Chocolate and Orange Pots

Method

• Place milk, cream, orange juice, Grand Marnier, orange zest and 20g of sugar in a heavy based saucepan and bring to the simmer
• Remove from the heat, set aside and leave to infuse for 10 – 15 minutes
• Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 20 grams of sugar
• Bring the infused liquid to a simmer again and then pour through a fine sieve into the whisked egg yolks. This will catch the zest, which can be discarded
• Whisk the liquid until the egg mixture is dissolved into the infused liquid
• Clean the saucepan and return the mixture to the pan, on a low to medium heat until it reaches 78 ºC, be sure to stir constantly
• Place the chocolate buttons into a mixing bowl
• Once the custard has reached the required temperature, pour this over the chocolate buttons and mix with spatula until you get a really rich and homogenised liquid
• Pour into ramekins and set in fridge for at least 1 hour. If there are air bubbles tap ramekins lightly on bench top. They should have a decadent look about them and very dark in appearance

NB. It is preferable to zest the oranges with a microplane as this extracts all the natural oils that are in the zest and gives a great aroma to the custard