Crème brûlée (burnt cream) is a very popular classic French dessert made with skilly vanilla custard. It’s a dessert that has delighted the taste buds of food enthusiasts worldwide. This treat, made with cream, sugar, and eggs, offers a smooth texture and a crispy caramel layer on top, which makes all the difference.
Creamy and delicious crème brûlée
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Crème brûlée, like coconut flan and crema catalana, is one of my favorite desserts. It’s the favorite dessert of many people, if not everyone. This is entirely understandable because not only is it delicious, but it is also easy, economical, and quick to make!
Crème brûlée is an egg-based custard cooked in a bain-marie. Once thoroughly chilled, it is sprinkled with brown sugar, which is caramelized with a blowtorch or under the oven grill. The cream is smooth, creamy and delicious. It will be the perfect dessert to finish off a raclette with friends, after a good roast leg of lamb, or even a lunch with salmon and leeks.
Details on ingredients
To make a good crème brûlée, you only need ingredients that are likely already in your fridge.
Fresh eggs: you’ll only need the yolks. Egg whites can be used later to make macarons, a cake, or floating islands. They also freeze very well.
Whole milk : You can use only cream, but I prefer a 50/50 mix of milk and cream.
heavy cream : It must be full-fat, as this is what gives the dessert its creamy texture.
Sugar: Adjust according to your taste.
Vanilla: I recommend using a vanilla bean for an intense vanilla flavor, but you can use vanilla extract or replace some sugar with vanilla sugar. The crème brûlée will be just as good.
Brown Sugar: I use fine brown sugar, which you can replace with granulated sugar. If you have coarse brown sugar, sift it through a fine strainer. When the sugar is fine, it caramelizes faster under the heat of the blowtorch.
Crème brûlée Success Tips
The recipe is very easy to make; however, you need to pay attention to a few points.
Do not whip the egg yolks with the sugar to avoid creating foam. Your crème brûlée will have a layer of foam on top once it’s baked. It’s not essential, but if you want a flawless crème brûlée, then this point is crucial. Once the milk and cream are mixed with the eggs and sugar, let it rest for 5 minutes so that all the foam rises to the top.
Remove with a spoon.
Once the crème brûlée is cooked and cooled, sprinkle sugar over the top and burn with a blowtorch. When the caramel layer has hardened, sprinkle a second layer of sugar and caramelize it with a blowtorch. Enjoy immediately to ensure the caramel is perfectly crispy.
Recipe on video
Preparation steps
Find the detailed recipe card with ingredients below
1. Place the milk, cream, vanilla seeds, and the pod shell in a saucepan.
2. Heat the mixture on the stove and cover with plastic wrap to retain the vanilla aroma in the milk and cream.
3. Remove before boiling and leave to infuse for twenty minutes.
4. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar without whisking to avoid creating foam. Strain the milk and cream through a fine mesh sieve. to remove the vanilla pod.
5. Press the pod to extract all the vanilla seeds.
6. Pour the mixture over the egg yolks and sugar, and mix gently without whisking. It’s very important to avoid foaming.
7. Strain the mixture again to remove any foam that may have formed.
8. Use a spoon to remove any bubbles that have risen to the surface of the liquid.
9. Pour hot water into a baking dish, ensuring the water reaches just below halfway up the sides of the ovenproof ramekins.
10. Place the ramekins in the water bath and fill them with the custard mixture.
11. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 125°C (257°F), or if you’re in a hurry, bake for 50 minutes at 145°C (293°F).
12. The custards should be set with a slight jiggle in the middle when the ramekin is gently shaken.
13. Remove from the water bath and let cool slightly before transferring to the refrigerator.
14. Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.
15. Just before serving, sprinkle each custard with a thin layer of brown sugar and caramelize using a blowtorch.
16. Sprinkle with a second layer of brown sugar and caramelize again with the blowtorch. Layering the brown sugar twice ensures a uniform crispy caramel top.
You’ll love this creme brulee, so delicious and easy to make.
Easy Vanilla Crème Brûlée Recipe
Matériel :
Ingredients :
- 5 egg yolks
- 250 ml whole milk (8.5 fl oz)
- 250 ml heavy cream (8.5 fl oz)
- 85 g sugar (3 oz)
- 1 or 2 vanilla beans
For caramelizing:
- Brown sugar or granulated sugar
- A blowtorch is preferred but if you don't have one, place the custards in the freezer for 15 minutes, then put them under the oven broiler set to 200°C ( 392°F)(just the top).
Instructions :
- Place the milk, cream, vanilla seeds, and the pod shell in a saucepan.
- Heat the mixture on the stove and cover with plastic wrap to retain the vanilla aroma in the milk and cream.
- Remove before boiling and leave to infuse for twenty minutes.
- Mix the egg yolks with the sugar without whisking to avoid creating foam. Strain the milk and cream through a fine mesh sieve to remove the vanilla pod.
- Press the pod to extract all the vanilla seeds.
- Pour the mixture over the egg yolks and sugar, and mix gently without whisking. It's very important to avoid foaming.
- Strain the mixture again to remove any foam that may have formed.
- Use a spoon to remove any bubbles that have risen to the surface of the liquid.
- Pour hot water into a baking dish, ensuring the water reaches just below halfway up the sides of the ovenproof ramekins.
- Place the ramekins in the water bath and fill them with the custard mixture.
- Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 125°C (257°F), or if you're in a hurry, bake for 50 minutes at 145°C (293°F).
- The custards should be set with a slight jiggle in the middle when the ramekin is gently shaken.
- Remove from the water bath and let cool slightly before transferring to the refrigerator.
- Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Just before serving, sprinkle each custard with a thin layer of brown sugar and caramelize using a blowtorch.
- Sprinkle with a second layer of brown sugar and caramelize again with the blowtorch. Layering the brown sugar twice ensures a uniform crispy caramel top.
- You'll love this creme brulee, so delicious and easy to make.
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cream, eggs, dessert, caramel, milk, brown sugar, pastry, flan