Salted White Chocolate Custards

Caramelized white chocolate is the new wonder in my baking world, and these creamy custards are the new dessert you have been waiting for! Rich and unctuous, they have a unique flavor and can be made ahead.

In time everything becomes clear.

One way or the other. In this case, I believe it's in the most decadent way. I think white chocolate was invented so that, one day, we could have salted caramelized white chocolate to fill our days (I can vividly imagine this white chocolate bundt cake with it!).

Emphasis on the salted aspect of it.

I finally succumbed to its charms. And there's no going back.

After I made it for the first time, I spent the next day and a half simply thinking about it, writing down all the things I wanted to do with it.

And also opened the jar, spoon in hand, and slowly ate the whole thing, a few tablespoons daily. I don't remember being blown away in this way by a flavor in years.

When a whisper becomes as soft as thunder, there's no questioning it, you need to go to work.

When a hint becomes apparent and you stumble upon it one time after another in a few days, it's probably time to do something about it.

It started with Kate leaving me a comment in the dulce de leche crepes post about it. A few days later, Liz posted some incredible cupcakes with it and by now, it was more than a thought.

Then I opened Emma's post about eclairs glazed with it; the time had come. I had to go into the kitchen and make a big batch of caramelized white chocolate. With salt. A very big one.

I am repeating myself, I know.

But, you see, there's no middle ground regarding salted caramelized white chocolate. It's sensational.

So, so fantastic I quite frankly don't know what to tell you about it because words are not enough. You have to taste it. You really, really do.

I saved Dave Lebovitz's original post about it a few years ago and then forgot about it.

It turns out that the masterminds at Valrhona, the extraordinary chocolate company, developed this way of baking white chocolate at low heat for quite a while, stirring it periodically, until it turned into a golden semi-liquid unctuous thing.

They now sell it as a chocolate bar, Dulcey, which I also used for the white chocolate almond cookies. I simply love it. 

I use it as regular white chocolate whenever I can. It wipes that extra step of caramelizing the chocolate on your own.

When I first tasted it, while still warm, my mouth felt like Nutella. Coarse and almost cloying, but for some inexplicable reason I couldn't stop eating.

It hardens as the days pass, becoming completely solid in a day or two.

But it melts in a minute in the microwave or hot water. So keep it in a glass jar that can be heated.

Just don't taste it right out of the oven. It's hot, very hot, and you'll burn your tongue. Just saying.

These custards are very creamy but not dense.

The whipped cream flavored with amaretto and sprinkled with orange zest is a fantastic combination, one that wasn't planned but will be used in the future again.

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