Best Sous Vide Dessert

If you have heard of sous vide, you probably heard of it in reference to cooking savory foods. It is a popular cooking method for steaks in particular and other cuts of meats.

Sous vide cooking provides the desired results consistently time after time. But what about dessert sous vice? Great meals are not complete unless they end with a great dessert, right? So, what is the best sous vide dessert?

You may be surprised to learn that sous vide cooking can produce lots of delicious desserts. But which one is the absolute best? It’s got to be cake.

The two best ways to make sous vide cake include using a zipper freezer bag or a mason jar. Either way, you get a delicious, moist cake you and your whole family will love.

Why Sous Vide Cakes?

Anyone who bakes cakes understands how difficult it can be to get consistent results. Just visit one baking competition and see how different each person’s results can be.

From one kitchen to another you can get drastically different results even when using the same cake recipe. What if you could get the same great results every time you make a cake?

The sous vide method eliminates problems caused by improper measuring techniques. You don’t have to worry about hot spots or ovens that are too cool or too hot.

When you make sous vide cake, you can choose the exact temperature and how long you want your cake to cook. Your cakes will never fail to be perfect again!

Making Sous Vide Cakes

The sous vide method is great for cakes and other desserts because you bake by weight. When you weigh your ingredients, you will get consistent results.

There are lots of desserts to make using the sous vide method, but most of them are made in canning jars instead of cake pans. You can make sous vide cake using canning jars but you can also use a freezer bag.

For some, the canning jar sous vide cake has a funky shape that just seems odd.

What You Need for a Zipper Freezer Bag Sous Vide Cake

When you bake no-jars sous vide-style cake, you’ll use a temperature-controlled water bath. Along with your regular sous vide equipment, you will need these items to make your cake:

•         One 6-inch cake pan
•         One gallon-sized freezer bag
•         One set of at least 25-pound strength magnets
•         One heat-proof plate that has the same diameter as the cake pan

Making a Sous Vide Cake

Prepare your recipe per its instructions. You will set your hot water bath temperature at 198 degrees (F). Your cook timer will need to be set for an hour. Here are the steps for cooking your cake.

Step 1: Line the 6-inch cake pan with parchment paper and spray it with a no-stick spray.

Step 2: Prepare your cake batter and make sure it has no lumps. Then, pour it into the cake pan.

Step 3: Insert the cake pan into a 1-gallon zipper freezer bag. Make sure to center the pan in the bag.

Step 4: Place a magnet on the side of the pan and make sure it’s facing outward.

Step 5: Seal the bag making sure there is as little air as possible left in the bag.

Step 6: Drop the bag carefully into the water bath. Attach the magnet to the side of the container. The cake pan should be submerged just to its rim. It is okay if the rim is slightly below the surface of the water. Make sure the cake pan is level in the water.

Step 7: Let the cake cook in the water bath for an hour, then remove the bag from the water. Open the bag to release the heat.

Step 8: Carefully remove the cake from the bag. Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, use a thin knife to release the edges of the cake so you can invert it onto a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper.

Step 9: Serve your sous vide cake with whipped cream, powdered sugar, caramelized sugar, fresh fruit, or frosting of your choosing.

Making A Sous Vide Cake in a Mason Jar

To use mason jars for cooking sous vide, you’ll need to set the temperature on your device to 185 degrees (F).

One of the most important things about using mason jars for sous vide cooking is to start out with both ingredients and jars that are room temperature. Drastic temperature changes can cause the jars to break.

Starting with room temperature jars is essential. You will also want to let them cool for a few minutes once you remove them from the water bath.

When using mason jars for sous vide desserts, seal jars just to fingertip tightness. This allows them to release the air pressure while they are cooking.

It helps prevent them from shattering during the water bath and prevents the ingredients from leaking out into the water.

Jars may be totally submerged, or they may float or hover near the water’s surface.

Either way is quite okay since gravity will pull the ingredients down below the surface of the water where they will cook evenly. Other tips include:

•         Always use tongs to place the jars in the water bath and to remove them.
•         Jars with plastic lids will not work.  You can use canning lids made for jars or a single-part metal lid. You can also use the glass lid with a rubber seal to cook sous vide desserts.

What other kinds of desserts can be made sous vide?

There are literally limitless options when making sous vide desserts. Please note that sous vide cooking isn’t for every type of dessert.

But there are some that yield above-par results that are tasty, moist, and out of this world! A few great options include:

•         Rice Pudding
•         Crème Bruleé
•         Sous Vide Cheesecake
•         Poached Apples or Pears
•         Puddings
•         Pecan or Apple Pie
•         Sous Vide Flan
•         Yogurt
•         Ice Cream
•         Lemon pie (With real lemon juice)

Sous Vide Ice Cream?

That’s right you can even make sous vide ice cream! The best part about it is that you can be creative with the flavors you love.

If you try to make it on the stovetop, the mixture of milk, egg yolks, and sugar can curdle and stick on the bottom of the pan if it gets too hot.

Cooking sous vide ice cream avoids these problems. The temperature stays consistent, so you won’t overcook the ingredients. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make sous vide ice cream base:

•         250 ml of milk
•         250 ml of heavy cream
•         100 g of sugar
•         5 egg yolks
•         1 scraped vanilla pod

Steps for making sous vide ice cream:

Step 1: Preheat the water bath to 185 degrees (F).

Step 2: Use a hand blender to whisk the egg yolks, vanilla seeds, and sugar into the milk.

Step 3: Gently mix the cream in using very smooth movements. (Do not whip the cream.)

Step 4: Pour the ice cream mixture into a vacuum bag. Seal it and place it in the water bath. Let it cook for one hour. Use a water circulator or move the bag every so often to stir the mixture a little bit.

Step 5: Remove the bag from the water bath and place it immediately in ice water.

Step 6: Once the bag is totally cold, pour the ice cream mixture into a bowl and mix it with a hand blender. Churn it in an ice cream machine. That’s some sousvide supreme ice cream!

Concluding Thoughts

There are so many desserts that can be made using the sous vide technique. Most of them are versatile and the ingredients can be adjusted per your personal taste.

You can add peanut butter, heavy cream, nuts, and anything else you and your family like to most dessert recipes sous vide style.

Perhaps the best part is that everything cooks evenly and thoroughly, which means you get great results every single time.