Salted Caramel Custard Food

SALTED CARAMEL CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place 6 (6.5 ounce) ramekins in a baking dish.
• Place sugar evenly in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Without stirring, allow sugar to slowly melt around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. When edges start to bubble, shake and swirl pan to dissolve remaining sugar but without stirring it. Keep pan moving until you have a clear, dark caramel, about 10 minutes. When sugar is completely dissolved, whisk in cream; caramel will cool into a lump; this is normal. Keep stirring over medium heat until caramel melts and mixture comes up to temperature and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat
• Stir in kosher salt, vanilla, and cold milk; mix well.
• Place egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in a ladleful of caramel/milk mixture to the yolks. Add 2 more ladlefuls, one at a time. Then mix in the remainder of the caramel/milk mixture to the yolks, whisking until thoroughly blended.
• Divide custard mixture evenly among the ramekins. Carefully pour into the baking dish enough water so that it comes halfway up the sides of the filled ramekins.
• Bake in preheated oven until custard is set and the top of custard jiggles evenly across the surface, 45 to 60 minutes (depending on the size of your ramekins and how full they are). If the center seems looser than the edges, continue to bake another minute or so.
• Transfer ramekins to a cooling rack; cool to room temperature. Cover ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour until they are very cold.
• Serve topped with a pinch of light, flaky sea salt.

SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Place sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until sugar begins to melt. Continue stirring until the sugar melts completely, begins to darken and all the chunks are dissolved, about 10 minutes. Stop stirring and continue to cook until the sugar begins to smoke and turns a dark shade of amber, 3 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and wait 30 seconds.
• Whisk in butter until melted and combined. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cream, taking care because it can bubble over. Sprinkle in salt and stir to combine. Transfer sauce to a jar and cool completely before refrigerating.

SALTED CARAMEL POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Place eight 1/2-cup (4-ounce) ovenproof cups, custard cups, or ramekins in a large baking pan.
• 2. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and kosher salt. Using the tip of a small sharp knife, scrape the vanilla seeds from the bean, add to the butter mixture, and drop in the bean too. Stir for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture has the texture of thick sand and has taken on a nutty, caramel fragrance.
• 3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually whisk in the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously and will seize when the cream is added. Whisk for about 5 minutes, or until the hardened sugar bits dissolve and the mixture begins to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the milk.
• 4. In a large bowl, stir the egg yolks to blend. Gradually whisk in the warm caramel mixture. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a 4-cup liquid measuring cup or a bowl with a spout. Pour the custard into the cups, dividing it equally. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, leaving one corner uncovered. Place the pan in the oven and carefully pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups, then cover the open corner with the foil. Bake the custards for about 50 minutes, or until they are just set around the edges but still jiggle slightly when the cups are gently shaken. (Be very careful of escaping steam when you uncover the pan.)
• 5. Remove the cups from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 1 hour. Cover each cup with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours, or up to 2 days.
• 6. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over each pot de crème and serve chilled.
• Storing:
• The pots de crème can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the cream and milk, stirring occasionally, until steam rises from the surface. Remove from the heat.
• In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until blended. Slowly add the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture into the saucepan or into a double boiler and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring slowly and continuously with a wooden spatula or spoon, until the custard thickens and a finger drawn across the back of the spatula leaves a path, about 6 minutes; do not allow the custard to boil.
• Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl and stir in the vanilla, caramel sauce and salt. Nestle the bowl in a larger one filled halfway with ice and water and cool the custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
• Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a chilled container, cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days before serving. Makes about 1 quart.

SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, spread sugar; cook, without stirring, over medium-low heat until it begins to melt. Gently drag melted sugar to center of pan so sugar melts evenly. Cook, without stirring, until melted sugar turns a medium-dark amber, 5-10 minutes. Immediately remove from heat, then slowly stir in cream, butter, salt and almond extract.