Mexican Chocolate Pot de Creme topped with Dulce de Leche and Almond Whipped Topping

I pity everyone who wasn't able to make our meeting last night, as Doug's pot de Creme was amazing! With my pity, comes my belief that I must share the recipe on our blog so that you can all attempt to make it on your own.
Definitely begin with the Dulce de Leche, as it takes by far the most time (about 3 hours).

Dulce de Leche (courtesy of Alton Brown)

Ingredients

1 quart whole milk
12 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a large, 4-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. once the sugar has dissolved, add the baking soada and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer. Stir occasionally, but do not re-incorporate the foam that appears on the top of the mixture. Continue to cook for 1 hour. Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and continue to cook until the mixture is a dark caramel color and has reduced to about 1 cup, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.


Mexican Chocolate Pot de Creme

For the custard:

2 1/4 cup half and half
1 cinnamon stick, busted (Doug suggested a meat mallet)
1 Morita Chili (ancho will also work)
4 oz Bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 egg yolks
1 Tbsp White Sugar
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 dash Salt

For the whipped topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp Almond extract
2 oz Sliced almonds, toasted

Directions:

For the custard:

1.  Preheat an oven to 320 degrees'
2. Combine the chili pepper, cinnamon stick, and  half and half in a medium-sized pot and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes
3. Combine the two chocolates in a medium-sized mixing bowl and melt over a double boiler.
4. Turn off the hat for the half and half mixture
5. Combine the egg yolks with both sugars and the salt, and whisk until well combined and fairly smooth.
6. Temper the egg yolk mixture into the half and half mixture.
7. Pour the custard base through a mesh strainer over the chocolate and mix until completely combined
8 Pour the chocolate custard base into ramekins, and place these on top of clean kitchen towels in a casserole pan.
9. Fill the casserole pan with hot water so that it reaches 1/2 way up the sides of the ramekins.
10. Bake the prepared custards for 25-35 minutes (or until almost completely set).
11. Allow custards to cool on the counter for 10 minutes, then refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

To Finish:

1. Top the cooled pot de cremes with warm dulce de leche (if using).
2. Whisk together all of the ingredients listed under the whipped topping heading until the cream forms stiff peaks.
3. Top the pot de cremes with the whipped topping, and then garnish with the toasted sliced almonds.

Then commence with the eating, pronto!