Cremeux appears in many forms these days, but as it was taught to me, cremeux is the rich uncle of ganache. Ganache is a mixture of hot cream poured over chocolate chips (or other chip-size shapes), left to sit for a few minutes, and gently stirred together. Depending on the ratio of cream to chocolate, the result may be a sauce (thick liquid), truffle filling (thick paste), or something in between.
Cremeux goes wayyyyyyy overboard in terms of unctuousness. The idea is the same, but the technique is to make a creme anglaise (instead of just heating up heavy cream) and pour that over the chocolate. The result, as we make it, is a rich and silky chocolate gel that excels either as the main component or accoutrement of a dessert course at any level of cuisine.
This recipe was refined and perfected by Chef Teddy Diggs, who was instrumental in getting Proximo, in downtown Chapel Hill, up and running with us in the fall of 2024.
- 1440 g milk
- 1280 g cream
- 960 g pasteurized egg yolks
- 720 g sugar
- 20 g salt
- 1200 g chocolate
Yield: 5-6K
Combine the milk, cream, salt, and roughly half of the sugar in a heavy-gauge saucepot and set it over a medium flame with a whisk, rubber spatula, ladle, damp folded kitchen towel, and thermometer close at hand. As the liquid heats up, stir regularly to prevent scorching.
Meanwhile, whisk the remaining sugar with the yolks in a large metal mixing bowl. Place the chocolate in a second large metal bowl. Place a few big scoops of ice in an even larger metal bowl.
As the liquid comes to a simmer, fold the damp towel and place it on the counter near the stove. Place the bowl of yolks and sugar on the damp towel so the bowl doesn’t slide around during the next steps. Lower the flame to medium/low. When bubbles are breaking the surface, ladle about a third of the liquid into the yolks, whisking the yolk mixture as you do. Then pour that mixture from the bowl back into the simmering pot of liquid (which should be turned down to low by now). Using the spatula now, slowly stir the combined mixture in a figure-eight pattern, scraping the bottom of the pot as you go.
Take the temperature of the liquid. Once it reaches 175F, (which should take only a minute or two, maybe less), you have made creme anglaise. Gently pour the creme anglaise over the chocolate and let it sit for five minutes while you clean up.
Come back to the cremeux with a clean rubber spatula. Starting gently in the center of the bowl, stir in little circles as the melted chocolate combines with the creme anglaise. Continue this process, making your circles bigger and bigger, until the cremeux is homogenized and smooth.
Set this bowl of cremeux in the bowl of ice. Continue gently stirring and scraping as the mixture cools. If the cremeux looks spotty or at all chunky, hit it with a small immersion blender (on low speed) to smooth it out. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap down on the surface of the cremeux and put the bowl in the refrigerator. Once it’s completely cool, remove the plastic and use as desired.