Oooo La La. Rich, decadent,and beautiful. This dessert got a lot of gold stars at our “I love herbs!” Harvest Tea 2011

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 4 – 1 oz squares semisweet chocolate finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• Garnish: Coarse sanding sugar and additional fresh basil

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine basil, cream, and milk. Bring to simmer, stirring frequently, cover and steep for 1 hour.
2. Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Squeeze basil of all liquid; discard basil.
3. Return cream mixture to saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sugar, chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture just egins to boil. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and flour. Slowly pour 1 cup chocolate mixture into e egg mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat. Pour egg-cream mixture back into saucepan, whisking to combine. Divide mixture evenly among 6 ramekins.
5. Line bottom of a large roasting pan with a folded kitchen towel. This will keep ramekins from sliding around. Arrange ramekins on the towel. Fill pan with enough lukewarm water to reach halfway up sides of the ramekins. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake until pots de creme are set around edges but centers still wobble slightly, about 45 minutes.
6. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Remove from pan. Cover each pot with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
7. Garnish with coarse sanding sugar and fresh basil. We found this incredible recipe in TeaTime Magazine March 2010.

Alfajores with Dulce de Leche
(in other words…Cornstarch Cookies and Yummy Caramelized Cream!) We served these sandwich cookies at our Argentinean Tea Party August 2013. The just lightly sweet cookies were perfectly paired with the sweet, rich Dulce de Leche middle.

• 2 1/2 cups cornstarch
• 1 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• grated lemon peel from 1 lemon

Whisk cornstarch, flour, baking powder, baking soda together. Beat together butter, sugar until fluffy, add egg yolks one at a time till blended. Add dry ingredients 1/3 at a time. Add vanilla extract and lemon peel. Mix well.
Roll or stretch dough to approximately 1/2″ thick. cut out into circles of desired size. Bake at 350° for about 15 minutes. Bottoms should be slightly brown.
Cool and spread with Dulce de Leche. Top with another cookie to make a sandwich-style cookie. Enjoy!
Recipe for Dulce de Leche