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Foolproof Sous Vide Crème Brûlée
This smooth, creamy sous vide crème brûlée is perfect for impressing guests or a treat-yourself dessert night! With sous vide, it will be perfect every single time. Topped with a caramelized sugar crust, there's no dessert better.
Ingredients
- 11 egg yolks, large
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Raw sugar
Instructions
- Preheat water bath using immersion circulator to 175 degrees F. This is a hot temperature for sous vide cooking: don’t forget to place a trivet under your container!
- Arrange 6 8 oz mason jars with lids in good condition, lids off.
- Whisk together all ingredients except the turbinado sugar. Mix until no solid parts of the yolk are visible.
- Evenly distribute the mixture between the six jars. To remove air bubbles on the surface of the custard, gently tap the jars on a hard surface.
- Place the undamaged lids on your jars. Close to "finger tight" (you should be able to easily unscrew with just your fingertips). Use silicone oven gloves or canning tongs to carefully set the jars in the water. Jars should be completely submerged and you should see small air bubbles escaping the jars. If the jars are floating, your lid is on too tight or they aren't full enough.
- Cook for 1 hour. Remove mason jars to a towel on the counter to cool for 15 minutes. Once cool to the touch, place in the refrigerator if not serving immediately. If serving immediately, place in an ice bath to continue cooling for 15-30 minutes.
- When ready to serve, it's time to add the caramelized sugar topping. Remove the lids and spoon a thin layer of turbinado sugar onto the custard. Use a small culinary torch to caramelize the sugar. Add another thin layer and repeat until desired thickness is reached (usually I do 3 thin layers). Repeat on all custards.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
What is the best time and temp for sous vide crème brûlée?
175 degrees F (80 degrees C) for 1 hour.
Why is sous vide better for crème brûlée than traditional cooking methods?
When using sous vide, the cooking environment is the exact temperature you want your food to reach, which means there's no risk of over or under cooking. No curdled custard or wiggly, raw center!
What jars should I use for sous vide crème brûlée?
My favorite jars to use are 8 oz, wide mouthed mason jars. For mini servings, 4 oz jars are perfect (and so cute!). Weck jars are generally my favorite for sous vide cooking, however, they aren't ideal for crème brûlée because there's less surface area for the sugar crust.
Can I make sous vide crème brûlée in advance?
Yes! Go through the whole sous vide process, but wait to make the caramelized sugar crust until just before serving.
Can I use nonfat or nondairy milk?
Sorry to say: there's no way to lighten up crème brûlée. She is what she is! However, you can certainly experiment with nondairy milks, so long as they are quite thick and rich.
Calories: 511kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 45g, Saturated Fat: 26g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 468mg, Sodium: 140mg, Potassium: 131mg, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 1934IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 108mg, Iron: 1mg
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