Few desserts evoke such a sense of sophisticated indulgence as Crème Brûlée. That satisfying crack of the caramelized sugar crust, giving way to a rich, silky-smooth vanilla custard beneath – it’s pure culinary magic. While it might seem like a dessert reserved for fine dining, mastering Crème Brûlée at home is entirely within your reach, and incredibly rewarding.
This recipe is my adaptation of the one I used to use at my previous job in a 5-star hotel. We had a buffet restaurant, and the dessert station would have around 25 options – a variety of sweet treats, Crème Brûlée being one of them. We had stunning and delicious entremets, delicate petit gateaux, a selection of seasonal fruits, bonbons, and a chocolate fountain, just to name a few. I kid you not, all the positive reviews guests gave us, either online or in person, would mention the brûlée somewhere! So, it’s only right for you to give this a go and transform your home kitchen into a five-star dessert haven.
The beauty of Crème Brûlée lies in a delicate balance of ingredients and precise temperature control, where a little bit of baking science transforms simple cream, egg yolks, and sugar into something truly extraordinary. Understanding how the custard sets and how to achieve that perfect, shatter-crisp topping is key to success.
In this post, we’ll guide you through every step to create a flawless Crème Brûlée, demystifying the process and ensuring you achieve that iconic crack and luscious texture every single time. Get ready to impress yourself and your guests!
Ingredients
- Whipping Cream 35% Fat – Whipping cream is ideal as it has a lower fat percentage than the stand UK double cream. It allows for a lighter, smooth and silkier custard, although this recipe will work completely fine with double cream (I have done myself) or a fattier cream than whipping cream. You may end up with a slightly thicker denser custard but still an exquisite custard nonetheless.
- Egg Yolks – Egg yolks provide richness from the fat it provides, flavour, colour and structure. Cooked correctly the egg yolks are going to leave you with a smooth custard for a great mouth feel and eating experience.
- Whole Egg – Whole egg helps with structure, the addition of egg whites introduces the albumen protein present in eggs (it’s what allows egg white to whip) will act as a binder when cooked. This just means we have a bit of a safe guard in aiding the stability of the custard.
- Caster Sugar
- Vanilla Pods – I know this is an expensive option but in my opinion, nothing beats the flavour of a fresh vanilla pod especially when added to fresh creams and custards. As a substitute, vanilla paste will work just fine if you don’t want to use pods. I typically use Madagascan Bourbon vanilla pods as its affordable and versatile with other recipes. That being said the best vanilla is Tahitian, Tahitian vanilla lends itself to custards, with floral & delicate notes accompanies the rich fattiness of dairy, although it is the most expensive vanilla you can get, a little goes a long way!
- Demerara Sugar – You can sugar that are in crystal form for the caramel crust, so sugars like demerara, granulated or caster. Soft sugars like brown sugar or dark brown sugar are too moist and are very fine, by the time the moisture evaporates the sugar granules catch quickly and burn.
This recipe makes 550g of brûlée mix, my ramekins are about 90ml in volume and take 110g of custard mix. Enough to make 5 servings!
All The Equipment You Need To Make Crème Brûlée
- Heavy Bottom Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital scale
- Silicon Spatula
- Piston Funnel
- Ramekins
- Blowtorch
- Deep Roasting Tray
How To Store Crème Brûlée
The beauty for crème brûlée is that you can make this in advance. Bake in the ramekins let them cool, cling wrap them and leave them in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, sugar the top, blowtorch, top with your favourite fruits and dig in!
Crème Brûlée
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Place cream and vanilla into your saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.1
- Meanwhile, combine your egg, egg yolks and sugar
- Once the cream has come to a simmer, temper you egg mix. Pour in small increments through a fine mesh sieve while continuously stirring with a spatula until all the cream is added in.2
- Place the custard mix into a container surface wrapped with cling film to chill for 4 hours but best overnight.3
- Prepare a baking tray and ramekins. Preheat your oven to 100℃ (212℉) fan.4
- Take the custard mix from the fridge, give it a stir and add into a piston funnel and dispense into the ramekins. With a blowtorch run the flame over the surface of the custard mix to pop any bubbles.5
- Place the tray into the oven and fill the tray with water until the ramekins are half submerged.6
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.7
- Remove the ramekins from the oven (be careful of the hot water in the tray) and let them cool for 45 minutes on the counter, then wrap them in cling film and place in the fridge for 4 hours to complete cool and set.
- When ready to serve, remove cling film and add a tablespoon of demerara sugar, swirl the ramekin to spread the sugar and decant the excess sugar. With a blowtorch burn the sugar until it caramelises and forms a nice crust, allow it to set for 30 seconds before topping it with fresh fruit and enjoy!
Notes
- Simmering the cream with the vanilla will allow the vanilla seeds to stay suspended in the final mix, so when you bake the seeds don't all sink to the bottom. If you are using vanilla paste or extract skip this step and combine all your ingredients at the same time.
- To make it easier you can strain the cream separately and then temper your egg mix.
- I like to chill the custard mix overnight. We are basically doing a double infusion, we've already done a quick infusion on heat and this long cold infusion will just enhance the vanilla flavour. You can skip this step if you don't have the time but let the mix cool down in the fridge for an hour or so, baking with a warm mix is going to scramble the custard.
- Baking at a low temperature means the temperature of the custard rises slowly, this will ensure the egg doesn't cook out so fast and scramble.
- A piston funnel isn't necessary, it just keeps everything clean without the mix going everywhere or over filling.
- Use room temp tap water to fill the tray, the water is there to control the heat on the ramekins, you want the water to rise in temperature with the custard mix to prevent the mix from scrambling.
- Time frame of the bake is going to vary depending on the size of your ramekins, mine are 90 ml in volume so it takes about 110g of custard mix. Check the consistency of the brûlée about 15 minutes into the cook to judge how much longer is required. There are 2 ways to check the brûlée are done, the outside perimeter should be set while the centre still has a wobble or with a temperature probe the internal temperature should be 64℃ (147℉).
- If you don't have a blowtorch, fear not. To caramelise your sugar, pre heat your grill (broiler) on high for 5 minutes and place the brûlée under the grill for 1-2 minutes until the sugar has caramelised. Placing the brûlée in a tray of ice water will help reduce the risk of the custard warming through and cooking further.