I absolutely love Crème Brûlée! Whenever I see it on the dessert menu at a fancy restaurant I usually always order it! There’s just something about cracking through that crisp caramelized, slightly burnt sugar top to get to the creamy, custardy filling that is just heavenly! This inspired me to make my own Vanilla Crème Brûlée so that I wouldn’t need to leave my house to indulge! More importantly I knew my recipe would have to be EASY – the most difficult part about this is knowing where to put the little French accents on the world Crème Brûlée. Seriously though, this recipe is perfect and I’m very proud of it because not only does it use only 4 ingredients (cream, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla), but it can also easily be converted to only 1 serving if needed be. This recipe will make 4 servings (4 ramekins), but if you want it to make 2 or 100 you can easily do the math (I do the math for you down below)! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner I figured now is the perfect time to share my recipe with you all, as there is no dessert more romantic than creamy, crackly topped Crème Brûlée! I have a video of me making this Crème Brûlée HERE for a better visual, or else the ingredients and instructions are below. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
– 2 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream (35%)
– 4 Egg Yolks
– 1/4 Cup (or 4 TBSP) Sugar (*+ extra for the topping later…)
– 4 Tsp Vanilla*
*I use 2 extracts, so 2 tsp of Vanilla Extract and 2 tsp of Vanilla Bean Paste (A great way to get those little Vanilla Bean specks inside without having to use an actual Vanilla Bean), though if needed you could use 1 Vanilla Bean pod, scrape the seeds out, and mix them in place of the extracts. OR you could simply use only Vanilla Extract – your choice!
*A note about this recipe:
I wanted to make this easy as stated above, and also easy to convert into as many servings as possible. Basically in every ramekin, or serving, you will need 1/2 cup cream, 1 egg yolk, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp Vanilla extract! HOW EASY, and PERFECT! That’s possibly my favourite thing about this recipe, it is so easy to make the conversions.
Instructions:
– Set the oven to 325 Degrees Celsius and have 4 ramekins ready, as well as a baking dish with high walls, and heat a pot or tea kettle of water.
– Add the 2 cups of cream to a medium saucepan and place on the stove at a medium/low setting until the cream just starts to bubble (this usually takes 5 to 7 minutes).
– In the mean time, in a medium bowl, take the yolks, sugar, and extracts, and give them a whisk to combine.
*If you are using an actual vanilla bean, cut the bean in half and add it to the cream while on the stove, once the cream is ready, scrape the vanilla beans out of the pod and add it to your yolk mix… then strain the cream through a strainer as you add it to the sugar egg mix*
– Once your cream is ready, slowly pour it into the yolks, sugar, and extracts, while whisking to combine everything.
– Now that the creamy mixture is ready, pour it into your ramekins. My ramekins usually fit about 3/4 of a cup of this creamy mixture per dish. Or you can eye-ball it like I often do.
– Set the filled ramekins into the high-walled baking dish, pour the hot water 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ramekins and place everything into the oven for 40 minutes.
– After the 40 minutes, take the pan out of the oven, and allow everything to cool enough to remove the ramekins from the water bath (about 10 to 15 minutes).
– Place the ramekins in the fridge to set the Crème Brûlée for at least 2 to 3 hours, to over night (and up to 4 days).
– Once you are ready to eat, place about 1 Tbsp of sugar on top of each ramekin, you can use simple white sugar, but for best results I like to use a thick, coarse sugar, so I always use organic cane sugar, but you can use any sugar of your liking.
– Once you have the sugar evenly spread on top of the Crème Brûlée, use a blow torch to melt the sugar. Remember Crème Brûlée literally means burnt cream, so don’t be shy here. We want all the sugar to be perfectly melted so that once it cools, it creates that iconic crunchy top that cracks perfectly when you break into it with your spoon to reveal the creamy, custardy Crème Brûlée . I love the contrast of the burnt, crisp sugar with the delicate inside.
– You want to torch these before eating, let them sit for 1 or 2 minutes before eating so that the sugar hardens (and you don’t burn yourself). It is ready to serve!
– I highly recommend using a blow torch as they are a great kitchen gadget and inexpensive as well, but if you do not have one, you can also use the double broiler of your oven. Place the ramekins under the double broiler to melt the sugar to top for about 2 minutes, or until the sugar looks caramelized, but never take your eyes off of them as you can easily burn this mixture! You may need to refrigerate this again for several minutes until the custard sets again… This is why I prefer using a blow torch, as there is little guess work.
TA DA!! You hopefully have a delicious, creamy, and crunchy on top vanilla scented Crème Brûlée! It is very easy to make, so please don’t be intimidated by these steps. The hardest part is waiting… Once you make it, you will likely never want to order Crème Brûlée again, as this homemade version is so much better and much less expensive! You can watch me make it HERE for a visual of this recipe… I also eat it! 😉
Thanks so much for reading and watching, and if you have any questions please feel free to ask 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day if this applies, or else Happy Crème Brûlée Day!
Love: Lisa (@LaDolceLisa)
Video recipe HERE:
ladolcelisa 