Heavenly and incredibly creamy crème brûlée that’s been infused with the warm richness of sweet salted caramel!
Although pumpkin, apple, and maple are usually the first flavors people think of when it comes to fall, my mind immediately goes to salted caramel. Not only does it pair so perfectly with pumpkin and apple, but its rich golden hue and toasty sweetness are absolutely reminiscent of fall.
So with the official first day of fall just a few short days away, I decided to commemorate the season by combining the comforting sweetness of salted caramel with the always luxurious and uber-boujee crème brûlée.
Heavenly and euphoric don’t even come close to describing how unbelievably divine this Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée is.
Every.
Single.
Spoonful.
Is.
Perfection.
To make these luscious ramekins of heaven, you’ll first need to make up a batch of salted caramel. Now, you definitely have the option of using store-bought caramel, HOWEVER, nothing matches the flavor of homemade caramel. Moreover, the custard comes together in mere minutes, so you might as well go the extra teensy weensy mile by making the caramel.
This salted caramel recipe has been my standby for quite a while. Not only is it easy peasy, but it’s not super duper finicky like some caramel recipes tend to be. You’ll start by simply cooking some granulated sugar and water in a medium saucepan until the mixture reaches a golden amber color. Instead of using a spoon to stir, I just swirl the pan around occasionally making sure everything cooks evenly.
Once the right color is reached, remove the pan from the heat, pour in the heavy cream (it will boil up), and stir until smooth. Return the pan to the stove and continue stirring until the temperature reaches 225ºF-230ºF. The salt is added at the very end.
Now that you’ve got your salted caramel, it’s easy street from here on out! Take some heavy cream and heat it in a medium saucepan until it begins to simmer. Take the hot cream off the heat and set it aside. In a large bowl, whisk some egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla together until pale and thick. Then take your caramel and slowly drizzle it into the egg mixture as you whisk. Make sure to reserve 1/4 cup of the caramel for serving.
Once the caramel has been incorporated into the custard, gradually add the hot cream by whisking in about half of a cup. This will temper the egg yolks so that they don’t scramble. Trust me, a ton of hot cream and eggs don’t mix!
After you’ve whisked in another half cup of hot cream, it’s now safe to whisk in the rest of the hot cream. For a little extra insurance, I prefer to pour my custard through a fine mesh sieve before dividing it among the ramekins. That way I can be certain that no little bits of cooked egg end up in my precious crème brûlée.
To get that silky smooth and almost buttery texture we all know and love about crème brûlée, a water bath is a MUST. All you have to do is arrange the filled ramekins in a roasting pan that’s been lined with a kitchen towel–this will prevent the ramekins from sliding around. Then pour some hot water into the pan until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
The creme brûlées can take anywhere from 40-50 minutes to bake. You can tell if they’re done by gently shaking one of the ramekins. The custard should be set around the edges, but still trembling in the center. Once the creme brûlées have cooled to room temperature, cover each one tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Just before serving, sprinkle about a teaspoon of granulated sugar on top of the crème brûlée, making sure to cover the ENTIRE surface. Then take a kitchen torch, and caramelize the hell out of that sugar!
Of course, we can’t forget the salted caramel that we reserved earlier!
Dollop a cloud of freshly-whipped cream on top of the crème brûlée. Then take your salted caramel and go to DRIZZLE TOWN.
Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée
Ingredients
Salted Caramel:
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon corn syrup
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
Custard:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 5 egg yolks
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup salted caramel (from recipe above)*
- 6-7 teaspoons granulated sugar, for caramelizing
Instructions
Make the Salted Caramel:
- Pour the water into a medium saucepan. Pour the sugar into the center of the pan, making sure none of the sugar crystals hit the sides. Add the corn syrup.
- Place pan over medium heat, leaving it alone for the first 5 minutes or until it the color begins to turn yellowish. Once you see some color, gently swirl the pan around occasionally as it boils. Continue boiling until the caramel reaches a golden amber color, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove pan from the heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream. Caramel will sizzle and bubble up. Stir in the salt, and continue whisking until caramel is smooth. If needed, return pan over medium-low heat, stirring until caramel is smooth. Transfer to dish or glass measuring cup to cool completely. Caramel will continue to thicken as it cools.
Make the Custard:
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Lay a kitchen towel along the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place six 4-5 ounce ramekins on top of the towel; set aside.
- Pour the heavy cream into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until it starts to simmer. Remove from heat; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla together until thick, pale, and forms a nice ribbon when you lift the whisk from the bowl. Gradually add the salted caramel, whisking constantly as you pour.
- Gradually add the warm cream by whisking in about a half cup. Whisk in another half cup, then finally pour the rest of the cream in, stirring until smooth. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps that might have formed.
- Divide custard evenly among the six ramekins, then set the pan on the oven rack. Carefully pour enough hot water into the pan to come about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the edges are set, and the centers jiggle when you gently shake the pan. You can also use a food thermometer to take the internal temperature. It should be 170ºF/77ºC.
- Transfer ramekins to a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Place ramekins on a baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Just before serving, sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar evenly over each custard.** Use a small kitchen torch to caramelize the tops.
- Drizzle with remaining caramel. Add a dollop of whipped cream, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes