This sous vide creme brûlée recipe was created out of necessity and became an instant hit! A co-worker of mine had his wisdom teeth out and I had to nix the traditional crispy creme brûlée crust in favor of a softer topping. This dessert has the perfect silky smooth vanilla bean custard of sous vide creme brûlée and a salty sweet brown butter caramel topping. No torch required!
If you don’t want to make caramel I highly recommend the Trader Joe’s fleur de sel caramel sauce — it is fantastic and ready to use!
So, full disclosure I really don’t know what to call this. It’s inherently NOT creme brûlée (because that requires the whole brûlée thing…) but it’s also not creme caramel or flan.. it’s creme brûlée custard topped with caramel sauce. I don’t know what to call it but it’s delicious and you will love it (I promise). The texture of the custard is so perfect it could literally only be made sous vide!
Sous Vide Brown Butter Salted Caramel Creme Brulee
Sous vide vanilla bean creme brulee custard topped with brown butter salted caramel sauce. Rich, decadent and no torch required!
Ingredients
For the brown butter salted caramel sauce:
- 6 tbsp salted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
For the creme brûlée:
- 160 g egg yolks (about 11 yolks)
- 90 g granulated sugar (scant 1/2 cup)
- 3 g salt (1/2 teaspoon)
- 600 g heavy cream (2 1/2 cups)
- 4 g vanilla bean paste (extract can be subbed, equal parts) (1 teaspoon)
Instructions
For the brown butter salted caramel sauce:
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In a light-bottomed pan over medium heat melt the butter. Stir frequently until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. As soon as it begins to smell nutty and develop brown bits, remove from heat and set aside.
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In a clean pan over medium heat, add the sugar and allow to cook, refraining from stirring, until caramelized and all sugar chunks are melted.
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Stir in the brown butter and lower heat to low.
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Slowly whisk in the heavy cream (it’ll bubble up) until the sauce is cohesive.
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Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until caramel is fully combined. Set aside.
For the creme brûlée:
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Heat water bath to 176 degrees.
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Combine yolks, sugar and salt. Whisk until fully combined.
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Add heavy cream and vanilla bean paste and whisk until smooth.
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Pour into jars, torch bubbles on top (optional), seal fingertip tight (or use Weck jars), and cook for 1 hour. (The jar size you use will determine your serving size. I used the small mason jars because this is so rich and those will net you about 5 servings.)
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Remove from water bath and allow to sit at room temp for 20 minutes.
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Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until cold throughout and set.
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Top with caramel and serve.
Recipe Notes
This recipe requires 3 hours minimum of chill time in the fridge prior to serving.
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