Place the oven rack on the lower-middle rack, and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Fill a small saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.

Place cream, and sugar into a different, medium sized saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. While the mixture is heating up, crack the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. Discard the whites or use them for another recipe. Whisk the eggs in a bowl until they are light and fluffy yellow.

When the cream is simmering, turn off the heat, and remove the cream from the stove. Stir in the vanilla extract, chopped chocolate, and cocoa powder. Stir the mixture until the chopped chocolate has melted completely. Return to the heat if there are a few chunks that just won’t melt.

Slowly pour 1/2 cup of the cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking them continuously to temper the eggs. Repeat this process until you have whisked in all the cream mixture. Distribute amongst the ramekins. Place the filled ramekins into a 13×9 inch baking pan, and place them into the oven. With the boiling water you prepared earlier, gently pour the water into the bottom of the 13×9 inch pan, until it reaches about 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Gently push the rack into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the temperature of the custard reaches 175 degrees.

Gently remove the ramekins from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool for at least one hour. Cover with plastic wrap and place the custards into the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours. Blot away any condensation with a paper towel prior to torching the sugar on top and serving.

Torch the top of the creme brulees until the sugar melts and becomes crispy and caramel colored. Serve immediately.