Serving Sumptuous Desserts with Sous Vide Supreme

Disclosure: Mom Central received a complimentary Sous Vide Supreme to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed here are our own.

As I began preparing to cook with Sous Vide Supreme, I kept looking into savory, dinner fare. But when I researched it a bit more, I realized I could also go into an entirely different palate area – the sweet, scrumptious flavors of dessert.

I found an amazing recipe (see below) – William-Sonoma’s Bourbon-Infused Peaches with Crème Anglaise – that I thought would cap off our summertime family dinner. (Jen, can we link to the dinner post?

I sliced several beautiful nectarines – instead of the peaches the recipe called for – and seasoned everything with basil, bourbon, and brown sugar. After vacuum sealing the package, I tossed it into the sous vide bath during dinner.

When we finished, I took out the nectarines and tossed it all over vanilla ice cream. The intensely flavorful nectarines, brightened with the addition of fresh basil, just floated in warm, sugary swirls over the ice cream. It proved a perfect – and nearly effortless – ending to a summertime family dinner.

Williams-Sonoma
Bourbon-Infused Peaches with Crème Anglaise

Prepare this sous vide dessert in the midst of summer, when peaches are at their peak of flavor.

Ingredients:

For the peaches:

• 1 cup simple syrup (see related recipe at left)
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 8 fresh basil leaves
• 4 peaches, cut in half and pits removed

For the crème anglaise:

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/8 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped, and seeds and pod reserved
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

To prepare the peaches, set the Sous Vide Professional to 180°F (82.2°C), with the rear pump flow switch closed and the front flow switch set to fully open.

In a small saucepan, combine the simple syrup, bourbon and basil leaves and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool. Remove the basil leaves and discard.

Place the peach halves in a medium vacuum bag and add the bourbon syrup.
Seal the bag to 99.9%, full vacuum.
Once the target temperature of 180°F (82.2°C) is reached, place the bag in the circulating water bath.
Cook the peaches to the desired doneness, 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove the bag from the circulating water and place the sealed bag in an ice bath. Remove the bag from the ice bath and remove the peaches from the bag. The peach skin will peel off easily.

To prepare the crème anglaise, set the Sous Vide Professional to 179°F (82°C), with the rear pump flow switch closed and the front flow switch set to fully open. Make sure your cooking tank has approximately a 3-gallon capacity and is covered.

In a blender, combine the egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean seeds and salt (do not blend the vanilla pods). Blend on high speed for 15 to 30 seconds (this breaks up the chalazae on the egg yolks so you don’t need to strain the finished sauce).

Pour the mixture into a vacuum bag, add the vanilla bean pod and vacuum seal the bag, removing as much air as you can.

Once the target temperature of 179°F (82°C) is reached, place the bag in the circulating water bath. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Crème anglaise cooked for 15 minutes will be thin and will just coat a spoon; it will be thicker if cooked for 20 minutes. Avoid cooking longer than 25 minutes, as the crème anglaise can take on an “eggy” aroma, although it will not curdle.

Remove the bag from the circulating water, wrap it in a kitchen towel and massage it for 2 to 3 minutes. If you omit this step, the crème anglaise will look lumpy. Place the bag in a cold water or ice bath to chill. For best results refrigerate overnight. Serve the crème anglaise with the peaches. Serves 2.

Adapted from a recipe by PolyScience.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.