pots de creme?

[Milagai]

I've never made pots de creme before,

but they sound easy and delicious (am I sadly mistaken?)

Can they be made without eggs for some of my

egg-free guests? Egg replacer + extra cream to compensate

for the diminished fat?

Or should I just go for something else?

All advice welcome.

Milagai

[carswell]

You might as well be asking whether you can make an eggless custard. While the answer is yes, the real question is why you would want to. The eggs are key to the dessert's flavour and texture and even if you find an eggless way to get the custards to set, the end product won't be a true pot de crème.

Why not save the pots for when you can do them right and treat your egg-avoiding guests to, say, panna cotta?

[Milagai]

any suggestioons other than panna cotta?

because of the gelatin issue...

or would agar agar work?

milagai

[theabroma]

Do your egg-free guests consume cream and other dairy products? Or, are they dairy free as well?

Theabroma

[Milagai]

Do your egg-free guests consume cream and other dairy products?  Or, are they dairy free as well?

Theabroma

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Dairy OK

Eggs not OK

Milagai

[JayBassin]

I've never made pots de creme before,

but they sound easy and delicious (am I sadly mistaken?)

Can they be made without eggs for some of my

egg-free guests?  Egg replacer + extra cream to compensate

for the diminished fat? 

Or should I just go for something else? 

All advice welcome.

Milagai

←

Sure they can be made without whole eggs or egg yolks. It's not clear what you mean by "egg substitute" because what I think of as egg substitute (e.g., "Egg Beaters") are egg whites with coloring and lecithin added. If your guests object to eggs in any form, then egg substitutes won't do. If they only object to yolks, you can make them with substitutes+cream+starch (cornstarch or tapioca starch or arrowroot). The eggs (mainly the yolks) act as the thickener as well as providing flavor and mouth feel. Egg whites alone will be too dry. You can finish with a bit of butter whisked in.

[Milagai]

I've never made pots de creme before,

but they sound easy and delicious (am I sadly mistaken?)

Can they be made without eggs for some of my

egg-free guests?  Egg replacer + extra cream to compensate

for the diminished fat? 

Or should I just go for something else? 

All advice welcome.

Milagai

←

Sure they can be made without whole eggs or egg yolks. It's not clear what you mean by "egg substitute" because what I think of as egg substitute (e.g., "Egg Beaters") are egg whites with coloring and lecithin added. If your guests object to eggs in any form, then egg substitutes won't do. If they only object to yolks, you can make them with substitutes+cream+starch (cornstarch or tapioca starch or arrowroot). The eggs (mainly the yolks) act as the thickener as well as providing flavor and mouth feel. Egg whites alone will be too dry. You can finish with a bit of butter whisked in.

←

Egg substitute NE egg beater.

Egg substitute is a product made for persons who are allergic to, or choose

not to, eat eggs, so it does not contain any egg products.

I found a box in Whole Foods.

Milagai

[Milagai]

You might as well be asking whether you can make an eggless custard. While the answer is yes, the real question is why you would want to. The eggs are key to the dessert's flavour and texture and even if you find an eggless way to get the custards to set, the end product won't be a true pot de crème.

Why not save the pots for when you can do them right and treat your egg-avoiding guests to, say, panna cotta?

←

ps: why is it so unreasonable to think of eggless pots de creme?

i believe ice cream recipes used to be egg-based too, and there

are plenty of ice creams now that don't use eggs and don't use

any industrial thickeners either, and taste excellent.

no other suggestions?

milagai

[JasonTrue]

Pot du creme is in its essence a custard, whereas ice cream with eggs is actually not ice cream, but frozen custard.

I don't think Ener-G is great as a custard thickener, but you could make a cream pudding with it and some additional starch. Perhaps an alternative such as sweet custardy tofu might work? With incredibly fresh, incredibly soft tofu and a nice ginger syrup, to me this is as irresistable as a custard is to me. (I eat both).

If you want to use cream, perhaps you could create a white chocolate or chocolate ganache-based dessert, layered or adorned with some fruit.

As a vegetarian, I generally prefer to receive tailored rather than adapted dishes.

ps:  why is it so unreasonable to think of eggless pots de creme?

i believe ice cream recipes used to be egg-based too, and there

are plenty of ice creams now that don't use eggs and don't use

any industrial thickeners either, and taste excellent.

no other suggestions?

milagai

←

Edited November 30, 2005 by JasonTrue (log)

[ludja]

Since pots de creme are usually custard-based as far as I know, I would also tend to go with panna cotta, avoiding egg substitutes and use agar as the thickening agent. I've always used 'regular' gelatin but googling a bit I saw a number of agar-based recipes. Maybe there is also a straightforward way to sub agar for gelatin in any recipe.

I also have a recipe for Swedish Cream. It has cream, gelatin, sugar, sour cream and vanilla. If you're interested I'll send it to you. This is often served with fresh fruit or a fruit sauce.

edited to add: I like Jason's tofu ideas as well although I haven't tried this at home.

Edited November 30, 2005 by ludja (log)

[carswell]

why is it so unreasonable to think of eggless pots de creme?

←

The eggs are an essential part of a pot de crème's makeup. They enable it to just set, to achieve solid-but-trembling-in-the-centreness, a state I've never seen duplicated without them. They also give the custard an incomparably silky mouthfeel, especially when they're duck eggs. And they contribute flavour, an addition that's particularly important in North America, where most cream has had the flavour ultrapasturized and adulterated out of it. Eggless pots de crème aren't pots de crème; they're pudding.

i believe ice cream recipes used to be egg-based too, and there are plenty of ice creams now that don't use eggs and don't use any industrial thickeners either, and taste excellent.

Pots de crème are chilled. Ice cream is frozen. Serve ice cream at refrigerator temperature and you'll be serving soup. A properly made custard will be solid at room temperature.

no other suggestions?

Sorry but the no eggs or gelatin business eliminates every non-frozen dessert of this type in my repertoire. And having no objections to gelatin, I have no experience with substitutes. When I cook for people who don't eat specific ingredients, I don't prepare ersatz versions of dishes they normally avoid (down that path lies tofurky). In your shoes, I'd probably make a fruit-based dessert (e.g. pears poached in sweet or sweetened white wine, stuffed while warm with gorgonzola, drizzled with the reduced poaching liquid and garnished with toasted slivered pistachios) for my egg and gelatin-shunning guests and save the pots de crème for an occasion when I could make the glorious genuine article.

Edited November 30, 2005 by carswell (log)

[miladyinsanity]

JasonTrue suggested tofu.

You could make glutinous rice balls to serve in the syrup. Just glutinous rice flour and enough water to make the dough feel a bit sticky in your hand. You can add coloring for some contrast, and fill them if you like--peanut, red bean paste and black sesame paste are more traditional, but yam is popular here.

The balls are then cooked in boiling water--according to my mom, it's until the balls float to the top. They should be chewy.

You could serve both the tofu and glutinous rice balls in soya bean milk, or syrups--ginger or pandan would be good.

[iguana]

Abby Dodge's new book "The Weekend Baker" has a recipe for 10-minute pots de creme that (I think) doesn't include eggs. I don't have the book in front of me, but I think it's just melted chocolate and cream. Purists will not consider this authentic-- call them "nots de creme"-- but they sounded very very good. Hope this helps!

[Pan]

JasonTrue suggested tofu.

You could make glutinous rice balls to serve in the syrup. Just glutinous rice flour and enough water to make the dough feel a bit sticky in your hand. You can add coloring for some contrast, and fill them if you like--peanut, red bean paste and black sesame paste are more traditional, but yam is popular here.[...]

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Where's "here"?

[carswell]

Abby Dodge's new book "The Weekend Baker" has a recipe for 10-minute pots de creme that (I think) doesn't include eggs.  I don't have the book in front of me, but I think it's just melted chocolate and cream.  Purists will not consider this authentic-- call them "nots de creme"-- but they sounded very very good.  Hope this helps!

←

They're mocha pots de crème and the recipe's available on her website (click Recipes > As Seen on TV > 10 Minute Mocha Pots de Crème). The cream is brought to boiling then processed in a blender with melted chocolate, instant coffee, sugar and other flavourings before being transferred to ramekins, chilled and served. No baking (!). You're right: they're not traditional pots de crème.

[miladyinsanity]

JasonTrue suggested tofu.

You could make glutinous rice balls to serve in the syrup. Just glutinous rice flour and enough water to make the dough feel a bit sticky in your hand. You can add coloring for some contrast, and fill them if you like--peanut, red bean paste and black sesame paste are more traditional, but yam is popular here.[...]

←

Where's "here"?

←

I live in Singapore.

[Rebecca263]

I dunno, I think without eggs it won't have the same unctuous texture of pots de creme. Why not make a dark chocolate pudding instead? That's what we had tonight, and I didn't use an egg. Here's my recipe:

2 cups of milk

1 cup of cream(today I used 1/2 & 1/2)

4 TBS cornstarch (I've heard that you can use flour, but I never have)

2/3 cup of raw sugar

pinch of salt

1tsp vanilla extract(or scrape a pod if you're lucky)

4 ounces of your favorite dark chocolate(I had some Mexican stuff today)

It's easy:

Break up the chocolate into small bits and set it aside. Make a little extra if you have company in the kitchen, they always take some and the dish needs 4 ounces!

Mix the dry ingredients in a double boiler over slow boiling water.

(I don't have a double boiler so I use a metal bowl over a pan of water.)

Slowly add the milk, cream and chocolate, stirring slowly all the while until everything has melded completely. I think this takes about 7 minutes. I say this because I know it is longer than 5 minutes, and I know it is less than 10, so watch your pot. I'm a very off the cuff cook though, and I haven't ruined this yet.

Now, here comes the scary part. You cover the mixture and continue to cook it for another 10 minutes or so, over the slowly boiling water.

Go in every minute or so and stir it into a smooth submission, and keep moving the pudding on the sides to the center of the pot, or bowl.

Don't let the pudding get to a boil. Lower the heat if you this coming. That's why I check it evey minute or so! I DID boil it once, but it was still edible. I just don't think you should take a chance, it is supposed to NOT boil, and we should attempt to be good and follow the rules.

Take the pudding off the stove, mix in the vanilla, and put the pudding into little dishes.

Refrigerate it(I always eat some at this step, myself) until it is chilled. Use small bowls! It's rich! I'm a good eater and I can't eat a lot of this, of course, it could be the after effects of my cleaning the pot....

tonight I ate mine with a piece of candied ginger and kiddle ate hers with a spoon.

[Milagai]

Thanks for all the suggestions, especially for the "nots de creme"

and tofu and the eggless puddings. I'll think more about those....

I prob won't go the rice ball or fruit-based routes because I was

really envisioning something puddingy, but will experiment and

see what emerges.

I don't think of adaptations as "erstatz" or a negative thing.

Sometimes some really good stuff emerges and I am not

against innovating / experimenting....

Thanks again

Milagai