Crème Brûlée

A classic creamy custard dessert that balances the sweet textures of smooth and crunchy.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings people

Calories 466kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

4 oven safe bowls/ramekins
pot
Whisk
strainer
Kitchen torch

Ingredients

Crème Brûlée

100 grams egg yolks
70 grams granulated sugar
250 grams milk
250 grams heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean (seeds scraped out, pod reserved)
50 grams granulated sugar or sugar in the raw (set aside) (used to caramelize the custard after it's baked)

Garnish (Optional)

155 grams fresh berries

Instructions

Making the Crème Brûlée

Preheat your oven to 200ºF (93ºC).
In a heavy bottom pot over medium heat, combine the milk, vanilla (both the seeds and the pod), and sugar. Bring it all to a boil.
Then, in a separate bowl, add in your egg yolk and gently whip it until it reaches a smooth consistency.
Once the milk has begun to boil, strain it to remove the vanilla pod, into your egg yolks and mix until combined.
Add the heavy cream.
Using an immersion blender, blend the custard to create an extra smooth consistency, about 15 seconds. Be sure not to allow a lot of air into the custard while it is blending.
Fill your baking containers or ramekins ¾ of the way with custard. PRO TIP: It will be easier to place the containers on a sheet tray before filling them, and then move the entire sheet tray to the oven. I used a silicone mat as well to avoid the bowl sliding.
Then, tightly cover each container or ramekin with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in the plastic wrap to allow some airflow.
Carefully move your custard to the middle rack in the preheated oven.
Bake for about 1 hour and 25 minutes. I'm baking mine in large glass bowls that serve 2 people each, but you can also use ramekins. Baking time may vary. Once your custard has somewhat solidified around the perimeter of the ramekin and has a slight jiggle in the center, it is finished baking.
If your custard appears to be mostly liquid, allow it to bake longer adding 10 minutes at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
Once the ramekins have been removed from the oven, allow them to cool for about 20 minutes. Then, place them in the fridge until they are completely cool.

Caramelizing the Sugar

When you are ready to serve the custard, spread a thin, even layer of granulated sugar across the top of the custard. You can do this by gently turning the bowl so gravity does most of the work for you and moves the sugar around the custard.
Using a kitchen blow torch, heat the sugar until it reaches the desired caramelization on top. PRO TIP: Try to do heat the sugar with a blow torch in small increments so you don’t cook the custard under the sugar. The goal is to have a thin layer of crunchy caramelized (not burned) sugar on top of the cool custard.
If you do not have a blow torch, place the ramekins back in the oven and broil them until the sugar has crystallized.
Garnish with berries or fruit of your choice.

Notes

Important Things To Note Before You Start

Practice Mise en Place (everything in its place). Measure out your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready before you start to reduce the chances of accidentally leaving something out.
Use a scale to weigh your ingredients (including liquids) unless otherwise instructed (Tablespoons, teaspoons, pinch, etc). Metric measurements are available in the recipe card. Scaled ingredients are much more accurate than using cups and help ensure the success of your recipe.
You do not need a kitchen blow torch if you are baking your custard in ramekins. If you are using another kind of baking dish, you will want to confirm how hot it can get before it shatters before you place it under the broiler in your oven.

Nutrition