• 6 oz 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 t instant espresso powder
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 T sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300F with rack in the middle of oven.
2. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
3. Bring cream, milk, espresso powder and a pinch of salt (a pinch is three fingers!) just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until powder dissolves. Pour over chocolate; whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
4. Whisk together yolks, sugar and a pinch of salt in another bowl; add warm chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour custard mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-qt glass measure; cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
5. Line bottom of a baking pan (large enough to hold 8 4-5 oz ramekins) with a folded kitchen towel and arrange ramekins on towel. Poke several holes in a large sheet of foil with a skewer. Divide custard among ramekins, then bake custards in a hot water bath*, pan covered tightly with foil, until custards are set around edges but still slightly wobbly in center, 30-35 minutes.
6. Transfer ramekins to a rack to cool and set, uncovered, about 1 hour. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

To make chocolate shavings to top with, shave chocolate with a vegetable peeler.