Chocolate Raspberry Creme Brulee

One of my favorite new traditions is Thomasson Wine Club night.  We get a fancy pants bottle of wine and build a fancy pants dinner around it.  Yesterday (last minute, of course) I decided to do a fancy pants dessert too!  I was craving a really good creme brulee and knew it would be a good last minute dessert to throw together, but I an into a small problem....my husband.  Every time we've had creme brulee before he hasn't seemed to be a huge fan of it.  In addition to that, he also doesn't really like any desserts that don't include chocolate (I mean, I LOVE chocolate as much as the next girl, but sometimes I want other desserts too, you know!?).  Now, I've seen recipes for chocolate creme brulee before but for some reason, they just haven't seemed right...not what I know creme brulee to be.  It's supposed to be light and creamy under the caramelized topping - did I really want something rich and heavy instead?  Despite my inner war waging, I decided I would give it a go and see what I could come up with for my sweet husband.  AND BOY AM I GLAD I DID.  I get it now!  This was SO delcious!!!  I even had leftovers and seriously have thought about it all day and have hardly been able to wait until I can have it later!  I am so very proud of what I came up with last night and highly recommend trying it!

Chocolate Raspberry Creme Brulee

makes 4 individual servings

6 oz. (1/2 pint) fresh raspberries

1-1/2 Tbs. Amaretto or Chambord

3/4 c. heavy cream

3-1/2 oz. fine bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla

sugar

Toss the raspberries in a shallow bowl with the Amaretto or Chambord and let soak at least 15 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place a cookie sheet in the oven to warm.  Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan.  Remove from heat and add chocolate.  Whisk until chocolate is melted and mixed in evenly.  Whisk the egg yolks and vanilla together in a medium bowl.  One the cream has cooled slightly, slowly add and mix thoroughly into the egg mixture.

Place about 7-8 raspberries in the bottom of 4 ramekins each.  Divide the chocolate custard evenly into the ramekins.  Place the ramekins on the warm baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.  Let cool.  Top each with a good layer of sugar (about 1/2 Tbs each).  Torch until caramelized, but be careful not to burn the sugar.  Don't have a kitchen (or blow) torch!?  I've heard it's possible to caramelize the sugar by putting them back under the broiler for a bit.  It's worth a shot, but I've never done it before so I can't promise it'll turn out the best.  If you do it that way, just be sure to keep an eye on it!  Enjoy (I promise you will!!!)  And BOUNUS: this is super fast and super easy to make!  And most ingredients you probably have on hand, making it affordable too.  It will take 15 minutes to get it into the oven, I promise!