Creme Caramel, Bittersweet Hazelnut Chocolate Sauce, Raspberry Champagne

A great special dessert to make for someone special on Valentine's Day or any day of the week. Why wait for a holiday?

Creamy, cooked vanilla bean custard surrounded by a pool of caramel, hazelnut chocolate sauce and raspberry champagne.

Creme Caramel
makes 4 ramekins
2/3 cup organic sugar
1/3 cup water
1-13.5oz can coconut milk
3/4 cup oat milk**
6 tbl cane sugar
1 vanilla bean, split down the middle and seeds scraped out
1/2 tsp agar powder (not flakes)
pinch of turmeric (for color,optional)
pinch of sea salt

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is a deep caramel color. Pour into each ramekin. Let harden.
In a medium-sized pot add the coconut milk, oat milk, cane sugar, vanilla bean seeds and pod. Warm over medium heat, 5 minutes. Add the agar while the milk mixture is very hot but not bubbling. Whisk to combine. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Boil while whisking continuously for 1 minutes. Remove from the heat, discard the vanilla bean pod and divide amongst the ramekins and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
When ready to serve, dip the ramekins in very hot water for 15 seconds. Use a sharp pairing knife to run along the sides of the ramekin and flip out onto a plate.

**While I prefer to use oat milk in most dessert recipes, I specifically chose it because the fat content is higher than soy or almond. If you can not find oat milk choose a non-dairy milk that has a higher fat content. This recipe will not work with reduced fat or low fat milks.

Bittersweet Chocolate Hazelnut Sauce/Spread
3 oz-70% chocolate, cut into chunks
1 heaping tbl unsweetened hazelnut butter
2 tsp organic powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut oil

In a small microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate for 1 minute, 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between. Whisk to melt any remaining chunks and add the hazelnut butter, powdered sugar and oil. Use as a warm sauce or let cool at room temperature and use as a spread.

Raspberry Champagne Sauce
8 oz fresh or frozen raspberries
3 tbl organic sugar
1 tbl cornstarch whisked with 1 tbl water
1/3 cup champagne

Combine the raspberries, sugar and cornstarch in a pot. Cook over medium heat until the raspberries have completely broken down, 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and place back on the heat. Add the cornstarch and water slurry and champagne and bring to a boil. Continue whisking until the sauce has thickened, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. The sauce while thicken more as it cools.