Classic Crème Brûlée

Smooth and luxurious, this French classic is a simple but elegant dessert that is sure to impress! This Classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée recipe takes only four common ingredients, and is far easier to make than you might imagine.

Vanilla bean crème brûlée is creamy and light, with just the right amount of sweetness. It is an elegant, impressive dessert that makes people and occasions feel special, and it is perfect for celebrating life's little moments.

It can also be as intimidating as heck! I avoided making crème brûlée for a very long time because I imagined its luxurious, velvety texture and bruléed top to be too complex a feat for a self-taught cook like me. Boy, was I wrong!

In practice, I found crème brûlée to be surprisingly easy to make; definitely less intimidating than flan with its flipping over step. (Plus, you get to use a kitchen torch! How cool it that‽) Add to that, this crème brûlée recipe takes only four simple ingredients - cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla - and very little hands-on time.

Jump to:

• Crème Brûlée Ingredients
• How to Make this Recipe
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tip: How to Torch Crème Brûlée
• FAQ
• More Recipes for Custard Lovers
• How to Serve Crème Brûlée
• Classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée

Crème Brûlée Ingredients

Crème Brûlée requires just four simple (but non-negotiable) ingredients: heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla.

• Heavy cream: We find that the results are better when using heavy whipping cream, versus regular whipping cream. (Heavy cream is higher in fat.)
• Egg yolks: Use large egg yolks. If you are using different size eggs, you need about ½ cup of egg yolks total.
• Sugar: Use granulated white sugar. Castor sugar will also work.
• Vanilla: We usually use a vanilla bean as detailed in this recipe; however, you can substitute vanilla extract; or better yet, vanilla bean paste.

How to Make this Recipe

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).

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.

Whisk the vanilla bean seeds and vanilla shell to the warm cream. Let vanilla beans stand in cream for 30 minutes.

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.

Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and strain the custard mixture. (I do this twice.)

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 6-ounce ramekins.

Set the ramekins on the paper towel. Fill each ramekin with equal amounts of the custard mixture.

Carefully place the pan on the oven rack, and then pour about one inch of very hot tap water into the pan around the ramekins. The water should come about halfway up sides of the ramekins, but no more. Avoid splashing or sloshing water into the custard mixture at all costs.

Bake 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, crack open the oven door, and allow custard to cool in the pan for 15 minutes.

Transfer ramekins to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to chill completely.

Brulée the Top

When custards are completely chilled, 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.

Equipment

To make creme brulee at home, you will need a culinary torch. But is it worth it? We think so!

A kitchen torch is a useful, versatile tool, and quite handy for many things besides melting sugar on top of custard. You can use a torch to brown to top of casseroles and meringues, roast peppers and tomatoes, finish French onion soup, and even toast marshmallows!

Storage

This crème brûlée recipe should be made at least 4 hours ahead of time, and can be baked up to two days ahead of time. If you make it ahead, do not torch it after it cools; just cover and refrigerate, then sugar and torch it right before serving.

Top Tip: How to Torch Crème Brûlée

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

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

Sprinkle a small amount of sugar on the top. It will stick to the moisture in the custard. Carefully shake off any excess sugar so there is just a thin layer on top.

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

Add a second layer of sugar, shake off the excess, and caramelize with the torch.

Repeat with additional layers of sugar until you achieve the results you want.

FAQ

More Recipes for Custard Lovers

How to Serve Crème Brûlée

Serve creme brûlée chilled, with a small dessert spoon. Traditionally, a firm crack of the spoon is used break the caramel crust, which makes a deliciously memorable sound.

Creme brûlée is a stand-alone dessert, and delicious all on its own. If you wish to embellish it, fresh berries are a lovely addition. We especially enjoy it with raspberries.

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