Creamy, vanilla Crème Brûlées made from scratch. Topped with caramelised sugar to give you that satisfying 'crack'. A lovely dessert to make for friends at a dinner party.
I love to order Crème Brûlée at a restaurant, it is such a treat. You won't believe how easy these are to make at home.
Sure, there's a bit of time involved. However, if you make the custard the day before you want to serve them, then you'll actually save time on the night of the dinner. Just grab your kitchen blowtorch and caramelise the sugar in front of your guests!
For another impressive dessert, be sure to try my Crème Caramel recipe.
Ingredient notes:
- Cream: The key to this creamy dessert is the cream! Unfortunately you won't get the same result using a plant based alternative - full-dairy cream here.
- Eggs: This recipe call for 1 whole egg plus two eggs yolks. Save the reserved egg whites to make some meringue or a pavlova.
- Vanilla: You can either use a vanilla pod or vanilla bean paste like I have here. If you don't have either to hand, use vanilla essence (but you won't get the lovely little black dots).
Note: Scroll to the recipe card for the ingredients, quantities and the full method.
Step by step instructions:
Preheat oven to 150°C fan bake. Place 5 ramekins into an ovenproof dish or baking tray with high sides. Pour cream into a saucepan and add the vanilla. If using a vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds from the inside and add both to the pot.
Gently heat the cream over a medium heat to infuse it with the vanilla. Do not simmer or boil. Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, the whole egg plus the 2 egg yolks.
Temper the egg mixture: Add a dash of the hot cream to the egg mixture and mix well. Repeat with a ¼ of the cream, mix well. Finally add the remaining cream and mix to combine.
Place a sieve over a pouring jug and strain the egg mixture through it. Pour the strained mixture into the prepared ramekins, then carefully place the baking tray into the middle of the oven.
Create a bain marie: While the baking tray is in the oven, pour in boiling water. Fill the tray until the water has reached ¾ of the way up the ramekins.
Bake for 30 minutes. The custard is ready when it looks mainly set but still has a gentle wobble.
Remove the tray from the oven and place the ramekins on a rack to cool. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
To serve: Sprinkle the top of each brûlée with 1 tsp of white sugar. Use the flame of a blowtorch in a circular motion to caramelise the sugar until a golden topping forms.
Recipe FAQs:
Tempering is a process where you are combining two liquids of different temperatures but you don't want them to curdle or cook. By gradually adding the hot and cold ingredients together, you are slowly warming up the mixture without running the risk of cooking the eggs.
Vanilla extract is a natural product that comes directly from a vanilla bean. Vanilla essence is a synthetic product made to taste like vanilla. Vanilla extract is more expensive than essence, however it also has a more intense flavour.
Storage:
The sugar topping should always be made within 20 minutes of eating, preferably just before you serve it. If you want to get ahead on these desserts, you can make the custards up to two days before. Then on the day you are serving the desserts, you can easily cook the sugar on top.
Top tips:
Tempering the eggs and cream is very important. Take your time and complete this step slowly to ensure the eggs don't curdle or cook.
Related Recipes:
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Crème Brûlée
Impressive crème brûlées made using only 4 ingredients - cream, vanilla, eggs and sugar.
Ingredients
- 500ml cream
- ½ vanilla pod, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 5 tsp white sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150°C fan bake. Place 5 ramekins into an ovenproof dish or baking tray with high sides.
- Pour cream into a saucepan and add the vanilla. If using a vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds from the inside and add both to the pot.
- Gently heat the cream over a medium heat to infuse it with the vanilla. Do not simmer or boil. Remove from the heat.
- In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, the whole egg plus the 2 egg yolks.
- Temper the egg mixture: Add a dash of the hot cream to the egg mixture and mix well. Repeat with a ¼ of the cream, mix well. Finally add the remaining cream and mix to combine. *See notes.
- Place a sieve over a pouring jug and strain the egg mixture through it. Pour the strained mixture into the prepared ramekins, then carefully place the baking tray into the middle of the oven.
- Create a bain marie: While the baking tray is in the oven, pour in boiling water. Fill the tray until the water has reached ¾ of the way up the ramekins.
- Bake for 30 minutes. The custard is ready when it looks mainly set but still has a gentle wobble.
- Remove the tray from the oven and place the ramekins on a rack to cool. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
- To serve: Sprinkle the top of each brûlée with 1 tsp of white sugar. Use the flame of a blowtorch in a circular motion to caramelise the sugar until a golden topping forms
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 438Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 225mgSodium: 45mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 0gSugar: 17gProtein: 5g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya
Hanna says
Any suggestions on which/where to buy a blow torch please?
VJ cooks says
Briscoes and Mitre 10 both stock them. Or, your more high-end hospitality shops like Chef's Complements, Moore Wilson's or Home Essentials.
Carole says
Hi VJ
How would you suggest I could make these as mini dessert bar sized brulees? Would I bake the custards for the same amount of time?
VJ cooks says
Hi Carole, I'm not sure what size you mean sorry. I used 9cm wide ramekins. If you were to use something smaller, then yes, you would need to cook them for less time. The custard is ready when it looks mainly set but still has a gentle wobble. I hope this helps.
Wendy says
Can you melt the sugar topping under the grill if you don't have a blowtorch?
VJ cooks says
Hi Wendy, yes you could. However, to avoid disappointment you would want to a) make sure the oven is hot enough to caramelise the sugar quickly, without melting the cream mixture while b) not keeping them in there too long to cause the top to burn. A balancing act!
Elspeth Zemla says
Could I use coconut cream instead of cream? I try to stay dairy free for health reasons.
Thanks
VJ cooks says
I haven't tried that in this recipe sorry. Let me know how you get on.
Chef Eagle says
Is it considered a refreshing cold dessert or hot dessert
VJ cooks says
Once the sugar is caramelised, the custard is warm at the top and cool at the bottom.