Salted Burnt Caramel Custard

A spoon in a jar of custard topped with coarse salt and sugar, on wood with salt crystals and a piece of twine nearby.

5 from 3 votes

This Salted Burnt Caramel Custard is a silky-smooth French-inspired dessert with deep caramel flavor, a hint of flaky sea salt, and just the right balance of sweet and salty. Elegant yet easy, these baked pots de crème are perfect for dinner parties, holidays, or when you want a dessert that feels truly special.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Southern

Servings: servings

Author: Jenny DeRemer

Equipment

2.5 quart baking dish
6 to 8 ramekins or glass Weck jars

Ingredients

4 cups heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks room temperature
pinch Kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
flakey sea salt such as Malden sea salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°F.
Prepare a 2.5 quart roasting pan or baking dish with 8 custard pots, oven-safe glass jars, or ramekins. Have a kettle of water ready by your oven.
Place cream and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside.
4 cups heavy cream, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk egg yolks, salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a large bowl, set aside.
6 large egg yolks, pinch Kosher salt, 1 cup granulated sugar
Combine remaining sugar and 1/2 cup water in a heavy gauge metal pot, at least 3 quarts in size. Stir. You are stirring until the sugar is largely dissolved. The water will begin murky and end somewhat opaque. This could take up to 5 minutes of constant stirring.
1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup water
Set the pot on top of the stove. Make sure there are no sugar granules on the side of the pot. Use a damp pastry brush to brush down the sides of the pot to get all of the sugar crystals into the mixture.
Turn the burner on to medium heat. Stir some at the beginning to make sure that all of the sugar is dissolving. Once the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is beginning to bubble, stop stirring. Resist the desire to stir.
Let the sugar and water cook together and work their science. The sugary mixture will graduate through the various sugar stages as the water evaporates and will eventually begin to caramelize. Do not reduce or increase the heat and don't stir. You can gently swirl the pan to achieve even caramelization if it looks to be necessary.
Watch the pan closely as the process moves quickly. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as your caramelized sugar has reached its desired color. The darker you can get the caramel without burning it the better the end product will be, but use caution and use your nose to smell for "sweet" versus "burn."
Slowly add warmed cream to caramel (mixture will bubble and steam vigorously), stirring constantly until very smooth.
With a 1/4 measure cup of the caramel mixture, dribble slowly into the egg mixture while whisking constantly with your other hand to 'temper' the eggs. Whisk in the remainder of the caramel mixture into the eggs slowly until all the caramel has been incorporated.
Move the assembly close to your oven. Divide custard among jars or ramekins and replace into the roasting pan. Using the kettle, fill the roasting pan with water to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Carefully lift the roasting pan into the oven.
Bake until custard is just set but still jiggly in the center, about 55 to 65 minutes. Carefully remove ramekins from roasting pan and place on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Chill custards, uncovered, at least 3 hours. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt to serve.
flakey sea salt

Notes

Very slowly and steadily whisk the cream into the eggs. If there's any lumps, you can strain that out by pouring the mixture through a sieve.
The sugar cooks until it turns a lovely deep amber, but not actually burned. It will take some time at medium heat on the stove, and you must watch it closely. Your nose "knows." The darker the sugar mixture, the more flavor the custard will have, but if it becomes too dark, or if you can smell burning, you have taken it too far.
This recipe makes 8 six-ounce portions. I like to bake them in the smallest clear glass canning jars I own. You can definitely use genuine glass pot de crème jars or plain old ramekins, too.
Boil the water for the bain-marie in a tea kettle rather than using hot tap water. Pour it into the pan around the jars or ramekins, but be careful not to get water into the custard cups.
The custards will acquire a quasi-crunchy film of bubbles toward the end of their bake, and this is correct. Once you lightly salt them, it will not make a bit of difference. Cover the baking pan of custard cups with aluminum foil if you want them ultra smooth.

Nutrition