Why it’s so good!
Not only is this dark chocolate cremeux a gorgeous silky and creamy chocolate French dessert, perfect for tarts or piping onto cakes, it can also be served as a dessert in its own right!
- Absolutely luscious! Chocolate cremeux is a rich chocolate flavour in a creamy, smooth pudding.
- Easy to make: Just 6 ingredients and 20 minutes.
- Flavour versatile: Use different chocolates, add flavourings as you like.
- Serving versatile: Serve up scoops just like chocolate pudding or serve it inside tarts and cakes.
- Can be made ahead: Make it 6 hours or up to 3 days ahead.
This stuff should be illegal it’s so good and if you want to try it at home, never fear, it’s so simple and this guide will give you all the steps and know-how you need.
It starts with a base of this creme anglaise.
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What is cremeux?
In French, cremeux (pronounced cremo) literally translates to cream which is the perfect way to describe this decadent dessert. Crèmeux (or crèmeux au chocolat) is a combination of crème anglaise (a pourable custard) and thickener of some kind, most often chocolate so that it can set into a thick pudding consistency. That thickening can come from other ingredients too, like butter or things like pistachio paste and sometimes gelatine is added.
You could almost describe cremeux as a type of ganache. Where chocolate ganache is made by mixing hot cream and chocolate, cremeux is made sweeter and more unctuous by mixing hot creme anglaise with chocolate.
And while chocolate cremeux and crème patissiere are similar in their luscious texture, creme patissiere (or pastry cream) is thickened with cornstarch.
Ingredients in cremeux
This gorgeous dark chocolate crémeux recipe requires just 6 ingredients and technically one of those is optional.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
Chocolate: Let’s start with the most important ingredient.
- Type: Use a good quality couverture chocolate like Callibeau if you can get it but if not, you’ll still get amazing results using baking chocolate. I find blocks of eating chocolate don’t set so firmly but if you don’t mind it being a softer consistency, feel free to use those too.
- Intensity: You can make chocolate cremeux using any kind of chocolate but keep in mind, the lower the cocoa solids, the looser/softer the consistency will be. I aim for around 60% cocoa solids in my dark chocolate cremeux by combining a 40% and 70% chocolate. You can use milk chocolate, white chocolate or caramelised white chocolate too. With white chocolate being around 30% cocoa solids, white chocolate cremeux will turn out substantially softer and you’d need to add some gelatine to be able to pipe it.
Milk: You need to use whole milk here to get it to set properly.
Cream: Make sure to use a full fat cream, like thickened cream, heavy cream or whipping cream – with a milk fat content of at least 36%. This will ensure a good thick set.
Large egg yolks: You just need the yolks of large eggs but you can use up the egg whites making pavlova or meringue.
Sugar: Just plain white granulated sugar or caster sugar is fine here.
Vanilla extract: While not absolutely necessary, I love the way a little vanilla both balances and intensifies the chocolate flavour in this.
Feel free to add a pinch of salt to taste too.
How to make cremeux
Making cremeux is quite a simple process of making a creme anglaise, then combining that with chocolate. Here’s all the steps with photos.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Heat milk and cream
Heat milk and cream over low-medium heat until you just start to see bubbles appearing.
2. Combine egg yolks and sugar
Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until smooth and lightened.
3. Temper the eggs
Tempering eggs means to bring the temperature of the eggs up slowly so that they don’t scramble. So, pour the scalding hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs while whisking the whole time.
4. Thicken the custard
Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over low heat for 10-15 minutes until it becomes quite thick. A candy thermometer is really handy here; you don’t want the custard to go over 82C/180F or you risk scrambling the eggs. It should coat the back of a spoon without running after you run your finger through it.
5. Add the custard to the chocolate
Pour the custard over finely chopped chocolate in a bowl. Let that sit for a minute or two so the chocolate can soften.
6. Stir it all together
Now just stir the chocolate into the creme anglaise until smooth.
7. Optional step: Use an immersion blender
To really help to emulsify the mixture (which allows for a smoother, creamier texture) or if you find the chocolate isn’t quite melting in completely, an immersion blender is brilliant. Keep it below the surface and just pulse a few times. Don’t lift it up and down as you don’t want to create air bubbles.
8. Chill
Transfer the chocolate cremeux to a flat, deep dish and cover with plastic wrap pressing it tight to the surface, then chill for 4-6 hours or overnight. Technically, you can keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Tips and tricks
As always, here’s a few little tips and tricks to make this recipe perfectly.
- Use a thermometer: A digital thermometer or candy thermometer is so helpful in this recipe, ensuring you don’t overheat the eggs but also that you get them hot enough to actually set the chocolate cremeux.
- Temper eggs gradually: When adding the milk and cream mix to the egg yolks, drizzle it in slowly and whisk the whole time. This allows the temperature of the eggs to rise slowly.
- Place the bowl on a damp tea towel to stop it moving around while you whisk and pour the hot milk at the same time.
- Be patient: When you’re heating the custard, keep the temperature to low. You don’t want to heat it too quickly or the eggs may scramble.
- An immersion blender is great if you feel your cremeux looks just a little grainy but even if not, it seems to give it an extra silky, creamy texture.
- Adding a layer of plastic wrap to the top of the cremeux stops it from forming a skin.
- Allow time to set: While it’s almost irresistible as soon as the chocolate and custard are combined, the true magic is after it sets. It has the texture of a soft-ish ganache and is stable so you can scoop it, quenelle it or pipe it for instance. Or just pour it directly into a tart shell or serving glasses. It needs at least 6 hours for a good set. You can speed it up slightly in the freezer though.
Serving suggestions
Chocolate cremeux is such a versatile dessert. If you can hold yourself back from just eating it straight out of the bowl with a spoon, there are endless ways to use it.
Quennelles / scoops: You can roll nice little scoops or quenelle the cremeux and serve it topped with fruit, nuts, cookie pieces or praline and an elegant little dessert. See the image above.
Tarts and cakes: You can spread it out into a tart shell then chill until set. Or, once set, you can spread it or pipe it between cake layers. Try this chocolate raspberry tart.
Cookies: Pipe on top of cookies or sables as a pretty dessert.
Mousse: Add some whipped cream to turn it into a mousse of sorts.
Pastries: Fill pastries like eclairs, choux buns, these chouxnuts or a Danish pastry after baking. You can even fill donuts.
Variations
You can also make a milk chocolate cremeux, white chocolate cremeux or caramel chocolate cremeux with this recipe. The higher the percentage of cocoa solids or cocoa butter in the chocolate, the more stable the cremeux will be, hence using the exact same ratios as the recipe below will result in much softer cremeux using one of these sweeter chocolates.
You’ll need to increase the chocolate quantity about 1 ½ times and in the case of the white or caramelised chocolate cremeux, you may need to add some gelatine as well.
While couverture chocolate will give you the very best flavour and texture, due to it’s higher percentage of cocoa butter, you can use most baking chocolates too. I tested a few different types and the cremeux you see in these photos was made with Plaistowe baking chocolate (a combo of the 40% and 70% to reach around 60% overall). It was perfectly stable, smooth and delicious.
You can also add spices to the chocolate or extracts. Try adding some cinnamon or some orange extract. Instant coffee powder is a great way to flavour it as well.
Troubleshooting
While easy to make, cremeux does have some steps that must be very closely followed. If one of those steps falters, you may come across some issues.
Why is my cremeux grainy/lumpy?
A grainy texture could be a couple of things. First, it could be that you have some overcooked egg in the mixed, caused by cooking for too long, or on too high a heat or not stirring constantly. If it’s only a minor amount, you can try pouring it through a sieve to strain any lumps out (this is best if you do it before adding the custard to the chocolate but can be done after as well. An immersion blender is a great way to remove lumps and make sure everything is emulsified properly.
The second cause could just be that not all the chocolate is melted. Maybe you let the custard cool too much before adding to the chocolate or maybe the chocolate wasn’t fine enough. For smaller lumps, the immersion blender might do the trick but for larger lumps, heat the mixture in a bain marie or double-boiler while stirring until the lumps are gone.
Why didn’t my cremeux set?
This could be caused by not cooking the custard long enough, not allowing enough time for the cremeux to chill or if you’ve used a chocolate with a lower percentage of cocoa solids.
My chocolate didn’t melt
This may be because the pieces of chocolate were too large or the custard mixture had cooled too much by the time you added it. Make sure to chop your chocolate finely – a little effort at the start makes the end go much smoother, literally. And make sure to add the custard is added to the chocolate straight from the stove top. Give it that vital minute to soften the chocolate slightly too.
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Did you try this chocolate cremeux recipe? Show it some love in the comments below.
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Ingredients
- ¾ cup full-fat milk (180ml)
- ¾ cup heavy cream (180ml)
- 4 egg yolks from large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar (65g/2.3oz)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, optional
- 200 g dark chocolate (50-60% cocoa solids), finely chopped (notes)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- medium heavy based saucepan
Instructions
- Pour the milk and cream into a heavy based medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Heat, stirring from time to time, until bubbles just start appearing.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar with a balloon whisk until smooth and lightened.
- Slowly drizzle the scalding milk mixture into the eggs while constantly whisking. Sit the bowl on a damp tea towel to keep it in position. Once it’s all combined, return it to the saucepan and heat for another 10-15 minutes over low heat, stirring with a spatulaconstantly until noticeably thicker. It should coat the back of a spoon and not run when you draw a line through with your finger or when it reaches around 82C/180F on a candy thermometer.
- Remove from the heat and pour over the finely chopped chocolate in a bowl. Let it sit for a minute or so to soften then stir to combine.
- Optionally, pulse an immersion blender in the mixture just a few times to get it even better emulsified and remove any small lumps. Make sure not to lift it up and down – keep it under the surface as you don’t want to add air to the cremeux.
- Pour the chocolate cremeux into a wide shallow dish (or leave it in the bowl) and press plastic wrap to the surface so it doesn’t form a skin. Chill in the refrigeratore for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Chocolate: If you can get hold of couverture chocolate, it will give you the best result both in texture and stability, and possibly flavour too. However, baking chocolate will work. Eating chocolate doesn’t create a very stable cremeux.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
FAQs
It’s best not to. The texture will be affected on thawing.
The main difference is air. Mousse is filled with air bubbles either from whipped egg whites or whipped cream to create a light and airy texture. Cremeux has a dense, smooth texture and should not have air whipped into it.
Cremeux is made using anglaise. It is a combination of chocolate and creme anglaise.
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2 Comments on “Chocolate Cremeux”
Thank you Marie. Just in time for my son’s 30th birthday cake. I was going to put alternating ganache and cream layers in his tall cake but now I will also have a layer of this. And as I see I can pipe this, I will use it on the top as well. Well timed !
I am a cake decorator and have made him a cake for every birthday since he was born but this may well be the last one and am hoping the next one I make him is his wedding cake !
That sounds like a luscious cake! I’d love to hear how it turns out.