Creamy keto chocolate custard in perfect individual servings! These deliciously rich chocolate pots de crème are the ideal sugar-free dessert for chocolate lovers.
When it comes to chocolate desserts, I don’t play favorites. I love almost anything made with that enticing, dark bean from the tropics.
I love it in baked goods, like Keto Chocolate Cake, and I adore it in creamy desserts like keto chocolate mousse. And don’t even get me started on how much I love keto chocolate cheesecake.
Chocolate is beautiful in all sorts of shapes and sizes. And it’s particularly tasty in these amazing pots de crème. Creamy smooth perfection!
What is pot de crème?
If you’ve never had pot de creme, get ready for a mind-blowing chocolate experience. This luscious dessert is a French-style baked custard, and the keto sugar-free version is every bit as good as the original.
I bet even those of you who don’t speak French can figure out what the name means. “Pot of cream” sounds pretty delicious to me!
It differs from keto chocolate pudding in a few key ways. You typically cook pudding on the stovetop, stirring until it thickens. And you usually need a thickener, such as glucomannan or xanthan gum, to help it set properly.
While you do heat the cream on the stovetop, pots de creme are oven-baked. They rely solely on the egg yolks and the baking process to set, so you don’t have to add thickeners or starches.
Lightened up keto pots de creme
I’ve had this recipe for keto pot de creme on the blog since 2015, but I wasn’t perfectly happy with it. While the flavor was amazing, I found that the custard set a little too much.
It was more like eating keto chocolate fudge than custard! I finally figured out where I went wrong, and that I was using too much heavy cream. Cream thickens far more during cooking than milk, and with the fiber in the unsweetened chocolate, it was setting too firmly.
By switching out half of the cream for some unsweetened almond milk, I got a much better consistency. Still unbelievably rich and chocolatey, but with a more custard-like texture.
Ingredients
This keto pot de crème recipe takes 6 basic ingredients that you can find at almost any grocery store. You will need:
- Heavy whipping cream
- Thin non-dairy milk such as almond milk or hemp milk
- Powdered sweetener
- Unsweetened chocolate
- Vanilla extract
- Egg yolks
If you feel a little fancy, try adding some flaked sea salt to the top of the finished custards.
How to make Keto Pot de Crème
Pot de creme is simple to make and results in a silky smooth chocolate dessert experience. Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Gently heat the cream and milk: You don’t want it to boil, or even come to a strong simmer. Just look for some bubbling around the edges and then remove from heat.
- Use unsweetened chocolate: Chocolate that has sweeteners doesn’t set as well as unsweetened, so your custard may be too thin. Also this way, you can sweeten it to your liking.
- Let the chocolate melt: Let the chopped chocolate melt in the warm cream before whisking it in.
- Slowly whisk the chocolate mixture and egg yolks: To keep the yolks from curdling, you need to slowly drizzle the chocolate in, whisking continuously.
- Set up a bain-marie: This is just a fancy term for a water bath, and it helps the custards bake more evenly and slowly. I give full instructions for setting this up in the recipe.
- Cover with foil: Covering the whole dish with foil helps steam the pots de creme and give them the right consistency.
- Look for the jiggle: Don’t bake until fully set! You need the center to have some jiggle so that the custard isn’t too hard or firm after it cools. Remember that they keep cooking for a while, even after they are out of the oven.
- Chill completely: Pot de creme needs to chill completely to set properly so be patient!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Simply replace the heavy cream with full-fat coconut cream. It may take slightly longer to bake through but it works well.
Possibly, but I have only used erythritol based sweeteners in this recipe. Swerve and Lakanto should be fine, but allulose and BochaSweet can make custards very soft and they may take a lot longer to set properly.
If you do try, please report back and tell me how it works!
It’s already built into the recipe! You can use a nut-free milk like hemp milk.
Store custard desserts like this in the fridge at all times, covered tightly to ensure that they don’t dry out. The pots de creme should last up to 4 days.
I do not recommend freezing this recipe as it will change the consistency of the custard.
More creamy keto desserts
- Keto Coconut Flan
- Easy Keto Banana Pudding
- Keto Key Lime Pie
- Mississippi Mud Pie
- Vanilla Rhubarb Custard
- Custard Pie with Raspberries
Keto Chocolate Pots de Creme Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (119 g) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (125 g) unsweetened almond milk, (hemp milk for nut-free)
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) confectioner’s Swerve Sweetener
- 1 3/4 ounces (49.61 g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 2 large egg yolks
- Pinch salt
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the cream, almond milk, and sweetener. Heat until the mixture just begins to simmer, whisking frequently.
- Remove the pan from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit 3 or 4 minutes, until the chocolate is melted. Add the vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and salt until well combined. Slowly pour the chocolate mixture over the egg yolks, whisking constantly to combine.
- Divide the custard among 4 small ramekins (4 ounce capacity each). Set into a larger baking dish and fill with enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Cover the whole baking dish with foil and poke several holes in the foil. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until custards are set around the edges but still jiggle slightly in the center.
- Remove from the water bath immediately, let cool, and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Sprinkle with a touch of sea salt, if desired. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Nutrition
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How would I cook these in an instapot?
No idea… this is not an IP recipe.
Could I use Hershey’s chocolate powder?
No, you need solid unsweetened chocolate.
Can I use whole milk instead of almond milk?
Sure, it just has more carbs.
Made these yesterday, they were amazing! Great flavor an texture. So satisfying! Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
I only have sugar free chocolate at the moment. Not even sure how I ran out of unsweetened without noticing! Do you think if I added more heavy cream in place of half of the almond milk it would still set ok? I mean if not, it would still taste amazing and I want to make something chocolate today!!
Maybe… but overall, sweetened chocolate tends to make the whole custard thinner. Give it a try… if it doesn’t work out, freeze it. Still yummy!
You are saving my life, or at least my mental health! I am fairly new to a low carb, IF lifestyle, and am happy about that and how my body is feeling, but I really thought I had to give up all the sweet things that I love which is just a very sad thought. Right now I’m in weight loss mode, so I’m focused on that, but once I get to maintenance mode, I intend to allow sweet indulgences once or twice a week that will keep me satisfied and on track. It also means less sugar for my family. Win-win!!! Really looking forward to homemade ice cream. Thank you so much for sharing your creations and learning. Big, big love to you.
Hi! I want to make this for a family birthday, and maybe I’ve completely overlooked it, but what size ramekins would you suggest? 4, 6, or 8oz for six servings?
4 ounce cups are best.
can I omit the ginger paste? I like ginger but I want a plain chocolate flavour.
Absolutely!
Am I missing something? I don’t see ginger in the recipe.
It’s an updated recipe that no longer contains ginger.
This is probably a crazy question, but I’m trying to make this for my dairy-free daughter. What do you think about subbing coconut milk for the heavy cream & almond milk for the 1/2 & 1/2?
I would do coconut milk for both the heavy cream and the almond milk, because it’s thinner than heavy cream.
I have never made pots de creme and these look so thick, rich, and delicious! I love ginger in dinners, but honestly, I am not sure I have ever had it in a dessert other than a gingersnap cookie. Need to change that!
This looks amazing! I love Ginger, especially on sushi, and in pretty much any dish. I keep my whole gingerroot in the freezer and grate the whole piece , skin included and still frozen, right into the dishes I am making. It’s never tasted any different! I can’t wait to make this, it will be delicious, like every dish I’ve made from your recipes!!!
I am a big fan of Garden Gourmet, but haven’t seen the lightly dried herbs before. I will have to check them out. These pots de creme look amazing.
I love ginger but have never thought of using it in chocolate. Will definitely make this. Your recipes are always excellent!
These pots de creme look so beautiful! I didn’t like ginger when I was a kid either. Now I love it, although I still won’t let it come anywhere near my sushi! 🙂
Would this work with 1 cup coconut milk + 1/4 cup coconut milk + 1/4 cup water?
Thanks!
I can’t say for sure…but I think so?
I am head over heels for ginger! I can only image how crazy good these tastes!!
I’m a HUGE ginger fan. I know not everyone loves it but I’m happy to eat their share 🙂 I also adore the whole chocolate ginger combo so I would be all over these pots de creme. Plus side they are low carb so they are perfect for my diabetic dad 🙂
This has my name all over it…in it and on it!!! Mmmmmm
If I were to use fresh ginger vs. the paste (I’ve always got fresh in the freezer!), how much would I use for this recipe? THanks!
Exactly the same, as they measure the same.