Salted Caramel Pots de Creme

Creamy, silky caramel custard is topped with homemade salted caramel and perfectly portioned in this elegant Caramel Pots de Creme recipe.

📝 Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean, (split lengthwise)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter, (cut into 1/2″ cubes)
• 1/4 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• sweetened whipped cream
• chocolate cookie crumbs ((such as Oreo))

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Caramel Custard ---
2. 2Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 300° F. Line a large roasting pan (with sides that are at least 2” tall) with a double layer of paper towels. Then place eight wide-mouth half-pint mason jars on top of the paper towels. Fill a tea kettle with water and put it on to boil. When the water boils, turn off the heat.
3. 3Stir cream and milk together and warm them in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium heat. Set aside.
4. 4Measure out ¼ cup of the sugar and set it aside.
5. 5Put a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of the remaining sugar. As soon as the sugar melts and starts to caramelize, stir it. When the color is uniform, stir in another 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue to stir until it is melted and colored. Continue with the remaining ¼ cup sugar, adding it 2 tablespoons at a time.
6. 6When all the sugar is deep amber, almost mahogany colored, stand away from the pan so you don’t get splattered, and slowly stir in the warmed cream/milk mixture. The mixture will bubble furiously and probably seize up, but don’t panic. Just keep stirring patiently and it will smooth out. Remove pan from heat.
7. 7Add the eggs, yolks, and reserved ¼ cup of sugar to a large glass measuring cup or a small bowl and whisk until pale and slightly thickened. Still whisking, drizzle in a little of the warm caramel liquid. This will gently warm the eggs so they won’t curdle. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the remaining liquid.
8. 8If there is foam at the top of the custard, skim it off with a spoon. If you leave the foam, it will form little craters on top of the baked custards. Divide the custard evenly between the mason jars.
9. 9Pour enough hot water from the tea kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the mason jars. Cover the pan snugly with foil, poke two holes in two opposite corners and very carefully and steadily slide the pan into the oven.
10. 10Bake the custards for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the tops darken a bit and the custards jiggle a little only in the center when tapped or lightly shaken.
11. 11Very carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Allow the custards to rest in their warm, steamy bath for 10 minutes, then peel off the foil and transfer the mason jars from the hot water (be careful!) to the cooling rack. Refrigerate them when they reach room temperature. When the custards are cool, cover them tightly with their mason jar lids.
12. 12--- Salted Caramel Sauce ---
13. 13Place cream in a small pitcher. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and then also add the bean. Set aside.
14. 14Stir sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush. The mixture will thicken and turn deeper in color. After about 5 to 6 minutes, it should be deep amber in color. Don’t let it get too dark. If it starts to smell a bit burnt, immediately remove pan from heat.
15. 15Very slowly add the vanilla cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously. Whisk over medium heat until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and salt. Strain into a heatproof bowl. Let cool until just slightly warm.
16. 16--- Finish ---
17. 17Spoon some of the salted caramel sauce over each pot of caramel custard. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight, to set.
18. 18Serve with small dollops of sweetened whipped cream and a little sprinkle of chocolate cookie crumbs (such as Oreo), if desired.