Sous Vide Crème Brûlée (With or Without Mason Jars)

Sous Vide Crème Brûlée – creamy and silky-smooth custard filling with a crispy caramelized sugar topping! No tempering of eggs, and no risk of a curdled texture. Sous vide technique guarantees the perfect results EVERY TIME by cooking this dessert to the precise temperature you set.

4.91 from 22 votes

Sous Vide Crème Brûlée (With or Without Mason Jars)

Sous Vide Crème Brûlée – creamy and silky-smooth custard filling with a crispy caramelized sugar topping! No tempering of eggs, and no risk of a curdled texture. Sous vide technique guarantees the perfect results EVERY TIME by cooking this dessert to the precise temperature you set.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: Sous Vide Creme Brulee

Servings: 4-oz mason jars

Author: Izzy

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Custard

5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream, 35% fat)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Topping

1/4 cup granulated sugar about 1 ½ teaspoons for each crème brûlée
Optional: fresh berries to serve with

Instructions

Prepare the Custard: In a large bowl add egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk together the ingredients until well mixed.
Slowly pour the heavy cream into the egg mixture. Stir until well mixed.
Strain the mixture, and slowly pour it into each mason jar, leaving about 1/2 inch from the top. (Make sure the mason jars and the lids are dry). If you don’t have canning mason jars, you can use zip-lock bags* (see recipe notes).
Let them sit for 15-20 minutes so that bubbles can dissipate.
Place the lid on each mason jar, and twist it gently until “fingertip tight” (This means the lid is barely closed and can be easily open with 2 fingertips.)
Fill a large container or pot with water, attach the sous vide precision cooker and set the temperature to 179ºF/82ºC.
Sous Vide Cook the Custard: Use a pair of kitchen tongs and slowly place the mason jars into the sous vide water bath. Cook for 1 hour. (It's best to place the mason jars into the water bath BEFORE it's heating up to avoid the risk of cracking.)
Chill the Custard: Remove the mason jars from the water bath.
Once the mason jars are not too hot to touch, open the lid and let them cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. In the mean time, dry the lid completely.
Once the jars are cool. Put back the lid and fasten it tightly. Let the custard chill in the fridge for at lease 4 hours. (Or up to about 2 weeks).
Burn the Sugar: When you are ready to serve, take the mason jars out of the fridge and remove the lid. Add about 1 ½ teaspoons sugar on top of each custard. Make sure to add enough sugar and cover the surface evenly.
Use a kitchen torch to torch the tops until the sugar melts and caramelizes.
Decorate with fresh berries and mint and serve immediately.
For leftovers, you can store them in the fridge and they'll last for up to 2 weeks.

Video

Notes

*Making sous vide crème brûlée without mason jars: Pour the custard filling into a ziploc bag. Vacuum seal the bag using the “water displacement” technique. Cook the custard filling for 1 hour in the sous vide water bath, and pour the custard into ramekins once cooked. The rest is the same as using mason jars.
How to caramelize the sugar top without a torch? You can broil them in the oven. Heat your broiler up super hot and make sure to position the rack just underneath. Place the custards on a tray and top with sugar. Watch carefully as it only takes 1-3 minutes. Note that you will get less even coloring than with a torch.
Troubleshooting crème brûlée:
- Why is my crème brûlée runny? If your crème brûlée comes out runny, it’s most likely that you’ve added too much heavy cream. Otherwise, it could happen when it’s undercooked.
- How can I prevent mason jars from cracking? When the jar is closed tightly, the excess air cannot escape from the glass, causing too much pressure to build up inside of the jar, and making it crack. To prevent this from happening, you’ll need to close the lid just barely, so that 2 fingertips can open it. In addition, adding the mason jars to the water bath when the water is not completely heated will also help to avoid the “Thermal Shock”.
- Why does my crème brûlée have a bumpy texture with bubbles? When you whisk cream and eggs together, the mixture will have foam on top. If you don’t strain the mixture, you’ll see some bubbles on the surface once the custard is cooked. I also recommend letting your custard rest in the mason jars for 20 minutes before cooking in sous vide.

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