Brown Butter Pot De Creme - Gf W/o Cookies - V Recipe

Brown the butter

Cut butter into even pieces and place in a light-colored 8–10-inch skillet over medium heat. Melt, then swirl continuously. After foaming subsides, watch for nutty brown solids and an amber aroma (2–4 minutes). Remove immediately from heat and transfer butter to a heatproof bowl to stop cooking; reserve butter solids with liquid.

Warm milk and cream with browned butter

In a medium saucepan, combine the browned butter (including solids), milk, and heavy cream. Warm over medium-low until just steaming and tiny bubbles form at the edge — do not boil — about 3–5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Temper eggs

In a stainless bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, egg yolks, whole egg, vanilla extract, and sea salt until smooth and slightly pale. Slowly drizzle about 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper (prevents scrambling). Continue to add the warm milk mixture in a thin stream, whisking until fully combined.

Strain and assemble

Pass the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl to remove any solids or coagulated bits from the browned butter and eggs. Divide the strained custard evenly among six 4–6 oz ramekins or 5 larger ones, filling to about 3/4 full.

Bake in a water bath (corrected to avoid undercooking)

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place filled ramekins in a deep baking dish. Carefully pour hot (not boiling) water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the whole pan tightly with foil to reduce temperature swings. Bake for 35–45 minutes, checking at 30 minutes: custards are done when the edges are set but centers still have a slight jiggle (should not be liquid). If centers remain very liquid, continue baking and check every 5–7 minutes. Total time depends on ramekin size — plan on ~40 minutes for 4–6 oz ramekins, up to 50 minutes for larger or colder custards.

Cool and chill

Remove ramekins from water bath. Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes uncovered. Then refrigerate, uncovered, until well chilled and fully set, at least 4 hours or overnight. Chilling finishes the set; if custard was still soft when removed it will firm in the refrigerator.

Prepare sour cream topping: Whisk the sour cream with the confectioners' sugar until smooth and slightly thickened. Taste and adjust sweetness; topping should be tangy and just pourable.

Before serving, spoon or dollop ~1 tablespoon of the sweetened sour cream onto the center of each chilled pot de crème. Smooth lightly with the back of a spoon.

Sprinkle a light pinch (about 1/8–1/4 tsp) of black lava salt over each portion to finish. Serve chilled.