Place chopped chocolate in a large bowl with a fine mesh sieve over top.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl until creamy and fully combined, about 1 minute.

Heat the heavy cream over medium heat in a large saucepan until lightly simmering with small bubbles forming at the edge of the pan.

Slowly pour the heavy cream into the egg yolk and sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan.

Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly and scraping the edges, bottom and sides of the saucepan until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 3 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 175 degrees

Pour the custard through the fine mesh sieve over the chocolate.

Stir the custard into the chocolate until the chocolate is fully melted.

Stir in vanilla, butter and salt until combined.

Place sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the sugar starts to dissolve, stir until it dissolves completely, 10-15 minutes.

Once sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and cook over medium heat until the sugar turns a deep amber color, another 1-3 minutes. Don’t walk away during this step! It can burn very quickly if you aren’t paying attention.

Remove the pan from the heat and Immediately add the cubed butter and whisk constantly until the butter is melted. It will bubble up.

Slowly pour in the heavy cream while whisking constantly. Be careful as it will bubble up again. Continue whisking until the caramel is smooth. If clumps of sugar remain, place back over medium heat for a couple minutes to melt them completely.

Add the salt and whisk until combined. Allow to cool slightly before pouring over top the chilled budino.

Whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar in a stand mixer or use a hand mixer until soft peaks form.

Pour a thin layer of the salted caramel on top of the chocolate budinos. You will have extra so store in the refrigerator in a covered container.

Top each with a dollop of whipped cream. If desired, sprinkle with some sea salt.