Pots de Crème with Chocolate, Chile and Espresso

Preheat the oven to 325°. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Add the chiles, cover and set aside to steep for 45 minutes. Strain the cream into a bowl and discard the chiles.

In a medium saucepan, combine the chocolate and 1/2 cup of the strained cream and cook over low heat, stirring, until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in the sugar and salt. Stir the remaining strained cream into the saucepan. Gently warm the chocolate cream over low heat.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until slightly thickened. At low speed, beat in one-fourth of the warm chocolate cream along with the vanilla and espresso powder. Return the mixture to the chocolate cream in the saucepan and cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Set six 4-ounce ramekins in a baking pan and divide the custard among them. Fill the pan with enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan with foil and poke several holes in the top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the custards are just set and a dark rim has formed around the edge. Remove the foil and let the custards cool in the water, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream and warmed dulce de leche.