Easy dark chocolate pots de creme—all the decadence of the traditional French dessert without dairy or refined sugar. Make in the blender with just 5 minutes of hands-on prep!
Is there such a thing as too much chocolate? This dark chocolate pots de creme recipe comes close. It is unbelievably rich, and smooth, and very, very chocolaty. With only five minutes of hands-on time, it's a true chocolate indulgence.
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What is pot de creme?
Pot de creme (or pots de creme if you have more than one) is a French custard dessert. Although there are many versions, it's usually somewhere between a creme brulee and a mousse in texture—not as dense as a creme brulee and not as light and airy as a mousse. With the addition of dark chocolate, it's absolutely decadent.
Pot de creme is traditionally made with milk or cream, sugar, and eggs. It involves making a chocolate cream on the stove top, tempering and whisking in the eggs so they don't scramble, and then baking in a water bath. I'm tired just thinking about it.
The beauty of this version is it cooks in the Vitamix. Between the hot coconut milk and the high speed of the blender, there's enough heat to turn the eggs into a perfect custard.
Easy chocolate pot de creme
What makes this no-cook chocolate pots de creme so quick and easy is that everything goes in the blender. Just heat the coconut milk (I use the beverage setting on the microwave) and pour it into the blender with the rest of the ingredients. The hot milk melts the chocolate and thickens the eggs in one step. No double boiler, no oven, no water bath—it's my kind of chocolate dessert.
This recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free. I use unsweetened dark chocolate and sweeten it with honey. I like Ghirardelli’s 100% cacao baking bar, but any good quality chocolate would work. I also use light coconut milk from Trader Joe's. The consistency is similar to whole milk and the ingredients are just coconut milk and water.
Serve the dark chocolate pots de creme with something to compliment the chocolate—fresh raspberries, whipped coconut cream, espresso, or even a nice Cabernet.
How to make chocolate pots de creme in the blender
Easy Dark Chocolate Pots de Creme
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
- 4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- fresh raspberries for garnish
Instructions
- Add the eggs, honey, espresso powder, vanilla extract, and chocolate to a Vitamix or high-speed blender in the order listed and blend until smooth.
- Heat coconut milk until very hot (do not boil).
- With blender running on low, slowly and carefully pour hot coconut milk into blender. Blend until chocolate is completely melted, and the mixture is smooth and thick.
- Pour into serving cups and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Garnish with raspberries.
Notes
Nutrition
More easy paleo chocolate desserts
- Avocado Chocolate Mousse
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Drinking Chocolate (Dark Hot Chocolate)
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Keto Hot Chocolate
- 3-Ingredient Chocolate Haystacks
Medeja
February 13 at 3:55 amIt’s never too much chocolate! 🙂 Sounds very delicious
Lisa
February 13 at 11:25 pmI think you are right! I hope you like it.
JC
February 14 at 12:07 pmCould you use 2% milk instead of coconut milk? Or regular milk?
Lisa
February 14 at 12:17 pmI haven’t tried it since I can’t do dairy, but I think regular milk would work in this recipe. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
norahgaughan
February 16 at 3:26 pmSounds great! One question – Why light coconut cream? Aren’t most paleo folks eating High Fat Low Carb?
Lisa
February 16 at 5:01 pmGreat question – I’m not trying to avoid fat, just additives and processed food ingredients. The Trader Joe’s light coconut milk is the only one I’ve found locally with no gums or other added ingredients (just coconut milk and water). And the consistency works well in the pots de creme.
Amy
May 18 at 11:11 amWhat if you don’t own a vitamix? Can you use a regular blender?
Lisa
May 18 at 11:52 amI haven’t tried it, but I think this recipe would work in a regular blender. If you try it let me know how it turns out.
dorothy dobson
July 11 at 2:03 pmI just made this in a food processor and it seemed to work. No ‘low’ setting but still ok.
dorothy dobson
July 11 at 2:04 pmDon’t have a blender, just made it in a food processor. there is no ‘low’ setting, but it turned out lovely.
Lisa
July 12 at 2:51 pmThat’s great. I’ve never tried it in a food processor – thanks for letting me know it worked!
Joni
February 26 at 11:28 amI don’t have a blender, but made in my food processor. The only change I made was to melt the chocolate in the hot coconut milk, then stream it in. It was smooth as silk. When I tried just the hot milk in the processor, it didn’t melt the chocolate completely, so there were little tiny pieces. Still good, just not creamy.
Tinka
October 3 at 12:31 pmHi Amy!
Have you tried the recipe in regular blender (I don’t own Vitamix eather), did it work normally?
Kayla
October 13 at 11:35 pmI mixed it in my ninja and it is sooooo addictive!!! I also put reddi whip on top.
Iina
June 20 at 8:09 amThanks for a great recipe! Just one question before trying it out: I noticed you use whole eggs not just yolks. Does it make a difference? In many other “paleo pots de creme” recipes there are just yolks used. Any thoughts?
Lisa
June 21 at 11:46 amI think it’s a little less dense with whole eggs, but it’s really just personal preference. I’ve seen recipes using whole eggs, just yolks or both.
Connie Murray
August 8 at 7:33 pmAre you not concerned about the use of raw eggs in the recipe. Other than that, it sounds absolutely delicious.
Thanks,
Connie
Lisa
August 12 at 12:21 pmHi Connie, I use organic eggs from a good source and I’ve never had a problem. If you’re concerned about using raw eggs, you can use pasteurized eggs or use a traditional custard method to cook the eggs with the coconut milk.
[email protected]
August 26 at 10:49 amThis looks awesome! Well, all of your recipes look awesome – you keep me busy pinning! Looking forward to more great stuff!
Lisa
August 26 at 12:03 pmThank you Karen!
Nicole
October 1 at 2:02 amJust made this and it’s amazing! Kind of like chocolate mousse. I used full fat coconut milk and a Magic Bullet blender. Worked wonderfully. Thanks!
Lisa
October 5 at 2:20 pmYou’re welcome Nicole! This is one of my favorite recipes. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Jennifer
November 21 at 9:25 pmRecently my non-paleo brother gave me a hard time for “depriving” my children of pudding – you know, the junky artificial stuff from a box. I’m going to make this and then have my kids call Uncle Mike to brag about their yummy ‘pudding’ 🙂
Lisa
November 23 at 9:44 pmJennifer, that’s awesome! I love it!
realrawkitchen
January 10 at 12:50 pmThis looks delicious! What a great inspiration for me 🙂 I think it’s time I play with coconut more in my desserts. I used to rely on it for desserts but got away from it somehow. You’ve brought me back .. mmmm mmm
The Wanderlust Kitchen
January 20 at 2:04 pmWow, this looks so heavenly! I’m Anetta from The Wanderlust Kitchen, just stopping by to introduce myself as a member of the new “tribe” and say “howdy!” Very nice to meet you 🙂
Lisa
January 20 at 3:35 pmHi Anetta, nice to meet you too! Thanks for stopping by.
Laura
September 10 at 5:34 pmThank you for sharing this recipe! So many gluten free recipes call for weird stuff like xantham gum and strange flour substitutes. I just wanted something simple, relatively healthy and delicious to make that my cousin can eat.
Now my pots de creme is chilling in the fridge! I used a ladle for easy and even doling out into my custard cups and placed them all on a baking sheet so they can be easily moved around. I also put one raspberry in the middle of each cup and placed three mint leaves around for garnish. They look really pretty, almost like holly! Maybe I’ll have to make this again and garnish similarly for Christmas season.
Laura
September 10 at 5:36 pmOh! One more little thing I did for mine. Back when I was a barista we would pick up our milk foaming pitchers and tap them on the counter to pop all of the little air bubbles that get inside. I did this for my batch as well to pop most of the little bubbles that were formed from blending.
Lisa
September 11 at 10:28 pmGreat tip – thanks for sharing! 🙂
Lisa
September 11 at 10:28 pmAwesome! What a great idea for a holiday garnish! And I agree with you about not using weird ingredients – I always stick with simple real food ingredients.
Jessy @ The Life Jolie
February 8 at 9:50 amThese look so delicious and the ingredients make them even more appealing! Pinning!
Amanda
February 20 at 8:40 pmHave made this twice now and love it! I made t tonight and have leftovers for the first time… How long will these last in the fridge?
Lisa
February 21 at 2:47 pmHi Amanda, I’ve kept them in the fridge a few days. They usually get eaten pretty quickly. 🙂
Allison Yoder
July 7 at 4:42 pmThis looks delicious! I’m doing Whole 30 right now and wondering how this would taste without the honey? Have you ever tried it or any substitutes?
Lisa
July 11 at 12:05 pmHi Allison, I have not tried this without honey. It might work with dates instead, you’ll have to experiment a little to get the right amount.
Trbobitch
December 14 at 2:11 pmYou’re not supposed to have any sweeteners or “desserts” on Whole30.
Lisa
December 19 at 11:00 amYes, you’ll have to save this one for after your Whole30. You can see all of my Whole30 compliant recipes here.
Will Campbell
April 26 at 8:05 pmHi. This is one of my favorite desserts. I have a friend with diabetes and would love to make it for him. Do you there is a way I could use stevia or liquid stevia? Thank you so much.
Will
Lisa
April 27 at 12:45 pmHi Will, I’m so glad you love it! I haven’t tested this recipe with stevia, but here’s a similar recipe from a food blogger with diabetes that might work for your friend.
Lisa
January 7 at 4:59 pmCan it be made without the espresso powder? Substitute? Thank you!
KIm
February 5 at 8:09 pmDo you think cacao powder would work instead of the bar? Thanks.
Linda Johnson
April 27 at 12:24 amHas anybody tried adding an avocado to this recipe? I know that it would add some healthy fat and likely make it very creamy also. A friend had made some chocolate avocado mousse and shared with my son, daughter-in-law, and I. We all thought it tasted delicious.
Lisa
May 1 at 4:51 pmHi Linda, I have a recipe for chocolate avocado mousse here.