Deconstructed S'Mores

Hey y'all! I'm in Oklahoma City right now, so I can say that. :-)

It's been pretty quiet around these parts for a while now, but all that is changing in the next few months. My perfectionist-nature has held me back from writing so many blog posts on my favorite recipes these last 6 months. Now that I'm in my last year of medical school, I have a lot more time to blog and do other things I love but have put on the back burner for too long. Move over Ms. If-it's-not-perfect-and-shot-with-my-Nikon-it's-not-going-on-the-blog!! Let's start with my newest creation that I'd love to share with you all: Deconstructed S'mores! I had some OKC friends over for dinner and made one of their favorites. For dessert, I thought I'd pull out something new from my (nonexistent) chef's toque. For those who know me, I LOVE marshmallows! My favorites are toasted burnt marshmallows made over an open fire AND homemade marshmallows (this will be a post for the holidays). I love all things marshmallow, even those Pinwheels that no one seems to buy...

So I made this recipe mainly because I wanted an excuse to eat toasted marshmallows for dessert. I let it get fancy schmancy since it was for company. For the base and the component that brings out the campfire taste, I made the famous chocolatier, Michael Recchiuti's, burnt sugar pot de cremes. I might experiment by adding a little whiskey or even a drop or two of this premium liquid smoke. But honestly, that complex caramel flavor was everything, and I'm afraid of messing it up. Even though this recipe looks super complicated, if you follow the directions-- it's very doable! Now go forth and brûlée, my friends!!

KiwiConfections Deconstructed S'Mores

Makes 7-8 Servings

6 large egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons water

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

3-4 Graham Crackers

1 package Large Marshmallow

To Make Burnt Sugar Pot de Crèmes

1. Separate egg yolks out while eggs are cold. Cover your bowl of egg yolks and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
3. Decide on a pan that you want to use as your bain marie. In a kettle, boil enough water to fill your bain marie pan with a ½ inch of water.*
4. Combine the cream and milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; remove from the heat and keep warm. Whisk it while it’s warming up to prevent a film or skin forming on the milk mixture.
5. Combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons of measured water in a medium heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved. Continue to cook without stirring, until the mixture turns a dark amber color. Immediately remove from the heat!
6. While whisking, carefully add about 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture to the caramel (it will bubble up and sputter so be sure to only add a small amount at a time), making sure to whisk the bottom of the pan, until the bubbles subside. Continue to slowly add the cream mixture 1/2 cup at a time while slowly whisking to incorporate it, until all of the mixture has been added; set aside.
7. Whisk the yolks in a small heatproof bowl until blended. While whisking constantly, slowly pour about ½ Cup of the cream mixture into the yolks until combined. Continue to add/whisk ½ Cup of the caramel/milk mixture into the eggs.
8. Pour and evenly divide the custard among the ramekins filling them three-quarters full.
9. Cover each ramekin with aluminum foil. Place each of ramekins into the pan you’ve designated as your bain marie.
10. Being careful not to get any water inside the ramekins, add enough of the boiled water to the bain marie so that the water level reaches ½ inch up the sides of ramekins.*
11. Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the tops of the custards are darkened in color and almost set, about 30 minutes.* (The entire custard will still jiggle, but it will set as it cools.)
12. Using tongs and being careful not to get any water inside the ramekins, remove each custard from the bain marie to let cool to room temperature.
13. Serve or leave covered with foil and refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, let the custards sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

*I used oval ramekins, which are wide and shallow compared to the classic ramekin which is circular and deep. If you use the circular, deeper ramekins, you’ll need the water level to reach 1 inch up the sides of ramekin. Also, it took about 30-45 minutes for my oval ramekin custards to finish cooking, but the deeper ramekins will mean your custards will take longer to cook (closer to 1 hour).

How to Create Chocolate Pretties

To Assemble Deconstructed S'Mores

1. Crumble up graham crackers
2. Sprinkle crumbled graham crackers on a burnt sugar pot de crème
3. Place 2 marshmallows on top of the crumbled graham crackers
4. Use a culinary torch to brûlée the marshmallows to your preferred level of toastiness
5. Place a chocolate pretty on top!

Burnt Sugar Pot de Crème Recipe Adapted from Michael Recchiuti

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