Salted Caramel Pot de Crème ~ I bake this luxuriously comforting caramel custard dessert right in my cutest Weck jars, and everybody goes crazy for them
Salted caramel pot de crème is my kind of fancy: elegant without the attitude. We cook the sugar to a deep amber, whisk in cream, egg yolks and vanilla, then bake the custard low and slow until it has that gentle wobble. A pinch of sea salt pulls the caramel into focus. Make them a day ahead and you’ve got dessert that feels luxe without trying too hard.
INGREDIENTS FOR CARAMEL POT DE CRÈME
Just a few simple pantry staples, yay!
- sugar
- as it caramelizes, sugar browns and builds deep, nutty, toasty flavor.
- cream
- the backbone of the custard ~ its main base and richness.
- large egg yolks
- their proteins thicken the custard giving body, richness, and that satiny texture.
- sea salt
- fine sea salt is in the pot de creme and also sprinkled on top. I really like the little edge it gives to the caramel flavor. This is the adult version of butterscotch pudding.
- vanilla
- boosts the toffee/butterscotch notes, and adds warm aroma without extra sweetness.
tips for making salted caramel pot de crème
Once you get this process down you won’t think twice about it. I’ve made this recipe many times and never had a problem.
- caramelize the sugar: you want to cook it until it gets nice and brown, but not burnt. It will take about 10-15 minutes on the stove, but you have to watch it closely, and use your nose, towards the end. The darker the sugar mixture, the more flavor the pot de creme will have, but if it gets too dark, or you start to smell a burnt odor, you’ve taken it too far. You have to have vigilance, and a little bit of trust, to make it work.
- don’t skip the water bath: it’s easy to do and the water bath keeps the heat gentle so the custard sets silky instead of curdled.
- knowing when your pots are done: they only take about 30 minutes to cook. The edges will be set, but the centers will still be jiggly. The pot de creme sets up more as it cools and then chills.
Salted Caramel pot de creme jars (4-6 ounce)
One of the fun aspects of pot de creme is the little ‘pots’ we cook and serve them in. I pour the hot custard into oven-safe jars or ramekins, set them in a casserole dish, and add hot water to come about halfway up the sides (a water bath ensures even, gentle cooking). They’re cute and everybody gets their own little serving.
WECK JARS are favorites of mine, you see them over and over again on my blog. They’re glass jars from Germany, originally developed for canning, but they can be used for so much more. I have trouble keeping a supply in my kitchen because they have a tendency to ‘go missing’.
I used my favorite Weck tulip jelly jars, (you can find them on Amazon here.) But this shape jar also works well.
more creamy desserts!
- Baked Custard
- Butterscotch Pudding Pie
- Cranberry Mousse Pie
- Chocolate Pot de Crème
- Instant Pot Rice Pudding
- Dreamy Nutella Mousse Pie!
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Salted Caramel Pot de Crème
Equipment
- 4-6 individual oven safe jars or ramekins anywhere from 4-7 ounce capacity
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp sea salt plus more for garnish
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F. Arrange your jars or ramekins in a baking dish.
- Whisk the egg yolks gently in a medium bowl until well blended. Set aside.
- In a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water and stir to combine. Begin heating it and stir to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture reaches a boil, stop stirring and continue boiling on medium heat for anywhere from 10-15 minutes, until the sugar syrup starts to brown. You can swirl the pan but do not stir. The browner the syrup gets, the more flavor you will have in your finished custard, but be extra careful not to let it burn.
- When the syrup is nice and brown, stir in the cream (be careful, it will spurt.) The caramel with be hardened at first and will dissolve as you stir and the cream heats up. Stir until all the bits of caramel are dissolved. This may take a few minutes.
- Slowly drizzle the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks, stirring with a silicone spoon as you drizzle. Continue until all the cream has been incorporated into the eggs and is smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh seive into a container with a pouring spout.
- Pour the mixture into 4-6 small oven safe glasses.
- Set the glasses in a baking dish and pour hot water into the dish to come up about an inch or two.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the custards are set on the edges, but still a little wobbly in the center.
- Carefully remove the jars from the water and let cool at room temperature. Then refrigerate until chilled.
- Serve with a sprinkle of sea salt.
Nutrition
POT DE CRÈME, CUSTARD, PUDDING, CRÈME BRÛLÉE, PANNA COTTA
These are all types of custard desserts, with subtle differences…
- pot de crème translates from French to ‘pot of cream’, a simple custard dessert made with eggs, milk, sugar, and flavoring. Custards are usually baked in a water bath, in the oven.
- pudding is looser than custard, is cooked on the stove. Pudding uses a starch such as cornstarch for thickening. Pudding can be make with or without eggs, but custard relies on eggs as its thickener.
- crème brûlée is a custard that has sugar sprinkled on the surface that is then torched to caramelize it.
- panna cotta is a light custard that includes gelatin.
I have made this recipe now countless times over the past few years, anytime I have extra egg yolks leftover from a recipe, or whenever else I feel like it (I almost always make it for my birthday instead of cake), and it has basically become my signature dessert that my family and friends ask me to make. I typically use 4oz mason jars and get about 8-10 small servings from a single batch of these (they’re rich, so that’s usually enough for me), and as a result cook them only about 20-25 minutes.
Thank you Emily, Happy Holidays!
I made this recipe for my birthday dinner and it was amazing! I used 1/2 c white sugar and 1/4 c brown sugar, but otherwise didn’t change the recipe. I topped it with a maple bourbon whipped cream and some flakes of cyprus sea salt, and it was literally perfection. I saw a few people comment that it wasn’t enough to fill many ramekins, but I have a water bath set that has 6 ramekins and it was the perfect amount to fill them all. My husband is insisting we make these for every holiday gathering now!
Wow, glad it was a winner for you! (I featured your comment in today’s newsletter!)
The first time I followed the recipe (I recommend cooking the sugar darker for a richer flavor) and they were sinfully delicious. Today I riffed on the recipe. As the sugar was finished cooking I added about 3 tab. bourbon and it boiled and sizzled and cooked off the alcohol. Then finished making the base and added in a splash of maple extract as well as the vanilla. Baking the pots as I am writing this and plan on topping off with finely diced caramelized pears (use harder pears). Perfect fall dessert.
Very rich butterscotch flavor, I used Oui yogurt containers and they were the perfect size. Everyone thought these were terrific, thanks for a great recipe.
LOVE those containers!
I find the recipe misleading. It states it makes six servings, but the recipes fills just three of the Weck mini-tulip jars, the smallest ones available. Hence, just three servings,, but quite large servings for such a rich dessert.
I ordered the tulip jars for this recipe, as well as future use, & was surprised that I’ve ended up with just three (& a bit) large servings, instead of six more modest ones. Annoying.
I love this recipe! Thank you
Wowowow my life will never be the same now that I know how to make these !! Holy cow. These are incredible. So silky smooth and rich and creamy. Two things that were different for me – it took just over 11 minutes of boiling before my sugar water caramelized, but it happened fast once it started. And my custards had to bake for more than 40 minutes. They seemed excessively wobbly when I took them out, but they did indeed firm up as they cooled. Maybe my oven cooks cooler, but I may set the timer for a solid 45 minutes next time. That said, there will 100% be a next time.
HI! this sounds like a perfect dessert for Christmas Eve. WONDERING if you have ever made it with brown sugar and if that would increase the caramel flavour?
I haven’t, but you should be able to substitute brown for white sugar. It might add a nice depth from the molasses in the brown sugar.
Delicious and so Simple!
I have done these twice now. Exactly as written and they are superb! Easy to do ahead of time ( we even had one left over that we ate two days later and it was as good as it was on the first day) , it was well wrapped.