Here’s a classic recipe for Crème Brûlée—a rich, creamy custard with a perfectly caramelized sugar top. 🍮✨
🥘 Ingredients (serves 4–6)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 5 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar (for custard)
- Extra sugar for caramelizing the top
🥄 Instructions
- Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). - Heat cream
In a saucepan, heat cream with the vanilla bean (split and scraped) over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and let infuse for 10 minutes. Remove vanilla bean pod. - Whisk eggs and sugar
In a bowl, whisk egg yolks with ½ cup sugar until pale and smooth. - Temper eggs
Slowly pour hot cream into the egg yolks while whisking constantly to prevent curdling. - Bake custard
- Pour mixture into ramekins.
- Place ramekins in a baking dish and fill dish with hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake 35–40 minutes, until custard is set but slightly jiggly in the center.
- Cool
Remove ramekins from water bath and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. - Caramelize sugar
Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on top of each custard. Use a kitchen torch to melt and caramelize the sugar until golden and crisp. - Serve
Let the sugar harden for a minute, then serve immediately.
✨ Tips
- Use a kitchen torch for the classic crackly top; broiler works in a pinch but is trickier.
- For extra flavor, add a citrus zest or liqueur to the cream before baking.
- Don’t overbake; custard should be creamy, not firm.
If you want, I can give a quick 3-ingredient microwave version of crème brûlée that’s fast, creamy, and still delicious. Do you want me to do that?
