No. You can pour the hot simple syrup into the egg yolks which will warm the eggs, then pour them directly over your chocolate. Being a top-notch pastry chef taught me this recipe, I have no reservations about the safety of the eggs and often just add them to my chocolate without cooking them on the stove. But, several of my readers worried about the safety of the eggs, so I developed this method of heating the egg yolks and sugar syrup with some cream a bit longer just to ensure the eggs are heated thoroughly.