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    Home » Eating Style » Gluten-free

    Classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée Made Easy

    April 30, 2015 • Updated: June 28, 2021 • by Renée • This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe
    Classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée Made Easy | The Good Hearted Woman

    Classic Crème Brûlée is surprisingly easy to make - definitely easier than flan with its scary "flipping over" step. Plus, you get to play with Fire.

    Classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée Made Easy | The Good Hearted Woman

    This post may contain affiliate links, but don't worry - they won't bite.

    I'd like you to meet the Custard's elegant, aristocratic French aunt, Brûlée. Crème Brûlée. (Oh, I do so love it when I get to use all those fancy French accents!)

    Classic crème brûlée is a recipe I have avoided for a very long time, mostly because I was afraid it was just too far above my raisin’, as Mr. B is fond of saying. I imagined its luxurious, velvety texture to be far too complex for a simple self-taught cook like me to achieve. Boy, was I wrong.

    In practice, I found crème brûlée to be surprisingly easy to make - definitely easier than flan with its scary "flipping over" step. Plus, you get to play with Fire. On purpose! How cool it that!?!

    3 ramikans and a spoon

    Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee | The Good Hearted Woman
    5 from 1 vote

    Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulée

    Classic Crème Brûlée is surprisingly easy to make - definitely easier than flan with its scary "flipping over" step. Plus, you get to play with Fire.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: French Classic
    Prep Time:25 minutes
    Cook Time:35 minutes
    Cooling Time:3 hours
    Total Time:4 hours
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 382kcal
    Author: Renee

    Equipment

    • Kitchen Torch
    • Ramakins

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups heavy cream
    • 1 whole vanilla bean
    • 6 large egg yolks
    • ½ cup sugar
    • Additional granulated sugar for topping

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 300° F.

    Prepare the Vanilla-cream:

    • In a small saucepan, whisk (almost) constantly and bring cream to barely a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from heat immediately when you begin to see bubbles forming around the sides of the pan.
    • Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the warm cream, then add the vanilla bean pieces. Let vanilla beans stand in cream for 30 minutes.
      Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee | The Good Hearted Woman

    Prepare the Custard:

    • Bring a teakettle or large saucepan of water to a boil.
    • Combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale yellow and thick. Pour the vanilla and cream mixture into the egg mixture and whisk thoroughly to combine.
      Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee | The Good Hearted Woman
    • Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and strain the custard mixture. (I do this twice.)
      Straining custard mix
    • Blend strained mixture with a whisk one more time. (There will still be tiny vanilla seeds in the mixture. They are supposed to be there.)

    Bake the Custard

    • Place a paper towel on the bottom of a large baking pan. This keeps the ramekins from slipping. (The pan needs to be large enough to hold four ramekins.)
    • Set the ramekins on the paper towel. Fill each ramekin with equal amounts of the custard mixture.
      Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee | The Good Hearted Woman
    • Pour about one inch of water into the pan. It should come about halfway up the ramekins, but no more. You don’t want water to splash into your custard mixture.
    • Bake about 25-35 minutes, depending on the depth of your ramekins. Custards should appear set around the edges but slightly loose in the center.
    • Turn off the oven, open the oven door, and allow custard to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to cool completely.

    Brulée Time!

    • When custards are completely cool, sprinkle the top evenly with granulated sugar.
    • Using a kitchen torch, carefully brown the top to caramelize the sugar. Distributing the sugar one thin layer at a time will yield better results than putting it all on at once.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 27.6g | Protein: 5.3g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 16.3g | Cholesterol: 397mg | Sodium: 35mg | Potassium: 73mg | Sugar: 25.2g | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 1mg
    This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
    Have you tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

    A Closer Look: How to Caramelize Crème Brûlée

    When custards are completely cool, sprinkle the top evenly with granulated sugar.

    Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee | The Good Hearted Woman

    In my experience, distributing the sugar one thin layer at a time will yield better results than putting it all on at once.

    Using a kitchen torch, carefully brown the top to caramelize the sugar. Keep the torch constantly moving to avoid scorching or burning sugar.

    Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee | The Good Hearted Woman
    Add 1st layer of sugar and caramelize.
    Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee | The Good Hearted Woman
    Repeat with additional layers of sugar until you achieve the results you want.

    Wavy Line

    Crème brûlée claims a noble European lineage: The earliest known reference to Crème Brûlée as it is known today appeared over 400 years ago in a 1691 cookbook by François Massialot. Massialot was a French chef who served such renowned notables as Philippe I, brother of Louis XIV and Duke of Orleans and later his son, Philippe II, (also) Duke of Orleans.

    Classic Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee | The Good Hearted Woman

    Tip: I got my kitchen torch on Amazon for less than $20. (Keep an eye out for deals.)

    Classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée Made Easy | The Good Hearted Woman

    Wavy Line

    THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
    of The Good Hearted Woman. ? Be sure to PIN this post!

    Classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée Made Easy | The Good Hearted Woman   Classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée Made Easy | The Good Hearted Woman

    Wavy Line

    Is there a recipe that you are hesitant to try? Let me know and I'll see what I can do to make it easier for you!

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!


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    About Renée

    Renée is writer, music maker, artist, and storyteller. In her spare time, you can find her writing love songs about cowboys, exploring the moss-covered nooks and crannies of the Pacific Northwest, and making music with her talented singer-husband.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rian Draper says

      July 26, 2020 at 6:36 pm

      You can also use a food safe blow torch 🙂

      Reply
      • Renée says

        July 26, 2020 at 8:29 pm

        I'm not sure what the "also" refers to: that is precisely what a kitchen torch is - a food safe blow-torch.

        Reply
    2. heather @french press says

      January 26, 2016 at 7:08 am

      I LOVE LOVE LOVE creme brulee, and I am with you on the flan - I hate having to flip a dessert

      Reply
    3. Lila Rose says

      April 30, 2015 at 10:31 pm

      5 stars
      You are awesome, precious daughter. Every day, you amaze me more. This is such an easy recipe, I think I can do it.

      Reply
    4. Bianca says

      April 30, 2015 at 10:31 pm

      That looks extremely easy and so delicious !! Thanks for sharing

      Reply
    5. Brenda says

      April 30, 2015 at 12:45 pm

      I so want my own mini blow torch for creme brûlée! It's one of my absolute favorite desserts. Yours look great!

      Reply
    6. Barbara | Creative Culinary says

      April 30, 2015 at 12:07 pm

      Absolutely love cream brulee. I have a small kitchen torch but thought I needed more so I bought a small home one. I was wrong and now see why the kitchen one is a good idea. 🙂

      Reply
    7. Charlene Asay says

      April 30, 2015 at 11:56 am

      I have always wanted to make Creme Brulee. I need to get myself a torch!

      Reply
    8. Jaime says

      April 30, 2015 at 11:28 am

      Oh wow, that looks delicious!

      Reply
    9. Aubrie LeGault says

      April 30, 2015 at 10:10 am

      Oh my- Creme Brulee is one of my all time favorite desserts. Thanks for the easier recipe. (Where did you get your torch?)

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        April 30, 2015 at 10:16 am

        I got mine on Amazon for less than $20 during a flash sale. There's a note at the end of the post with a link.

        Reply

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