Crème Brûlée Recipe
Classic French dessert of creamy custard topped with a crunchy 'brulee' caramel
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 480 ml (2 cups) Heavy Cream, (double cream)
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- 66 g (⅓ cup) Granulated Sugar, (caster sugar) plus extra for topping
- 3 (3) Large Egg Yolks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F / 160°C (140° fan).
- Heat the whipping cream and vanilla in a saucepan over a medium heat until it is scalding hot - this means there is steam rising from it and you can see tiny bubbles appearing on the surface. Don't let it boil.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and sugar, just until combined and smooth.
- Slowly drizzle the hot cream into the egg mixture while whisking - this brings up the temperature slowly so that the eggs don't scramble.
- Pass the custard into a jug or bowl with spout, through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
- Pour the custard into ramekins and place them in a baking tray to make a water bath.
- Pour hot water into the tray, being careful not to spill into the ramekins. The water should come up to about halfway up the height of the ramekins. TIP: It's much easier to do this once you have already put the tray on the rack in the oven, so you are not trying to move the tray with water in it - just work quickly so the oven door isn't open for too long!
- Bake for 35-50 minutes - this will depend on the depth of your ramekins. You'll know they are done when the edges are set, but there is still a very distinct wobble in the middle.
- Remove from the oven and let them sit in the water bath for 10 minutes, then remove from the water and let them cool to room temperature. Once cooled, put them in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.
- When you are ready to serve, sprinkle an even layer of sugar all over the tops of the baked custards, make sure there is no visible custard underneath
- Use a kitchen torch to 'brulee' the sugar, caramelising it until there is no white left. Hold the torch so the tip of the flame is just dancing across the surface of the sugar and hold it in each spot for a few seconds until it starts to caramelise.
- Serve immediately after you have caramelised the sugar, part of the sensation of creme brulee is the mixture of cold custard and hot crunchy topping!
Notes
If you don't have a kitchen torch, you can still make creme brulee! See the post above for information on how to brulee the sugar under the broiler (grill).