Pots de Crème are always great, but flavored with ginger they become exotic yet there’s nothing to it.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 cups heavy cream, light cream, or half-and-half

　　10 slices fresh ginger (don’t bother to peel it)

　　5 egg yolks

　　1/2 cup sugar

　　1 tablespoon minced candied ginger (optional)

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Combine the cream and fresh ginger in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until steam rises. Cover the pan, turn off the heat, and steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Beat the yolks and sugar together until light. Remove the ginger slices from the cream and pour about a quarter of the cream into the egg mixture, then pour the sugar-egg mixture into the cream and stir. If you’re using the candied ginger, add it now. Pour into four 6-ounce ramekins and put the ramekins in a baking dish; pour water into the dish to come halfway up the side of the ramekins and cover with foil.

　　

Step 3

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the center is barely set. (Heavy cream sets fastest, half-and-half more slowly.) Cool or chill, then serve.

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.