Description
Classic French dessert Crème Brûlée features a rich, creamy vanilla custard base topped with a crisp, caramelized sugar crust. This recipe uses heavy cream infused with vanilla bean, egg yolks, and caster sugar, baked gently in a water bath for a silky texture and finished with a perfectly torched toffee topping.
Ingredients
Scale
Custard
- 2 cups heavy cream (Aus) / pure cream (US)
- 1 vanilla pod OR 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
Toffee Topping
- 2 tsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
Instructions
- Prepare vanilla: Split the vanilla pod down the middle and scrape out the seeds with a small knife. Place both the seeds and empty pod into a saucepan with the cream.
- Infuse cream: Simmer the cream mixture uncovered on low heat for 10 minutes, then remove from stove and cover with a lid to infuse for 1 hour. If using vanilla bean paste, skip infusion and simply let the cream cool to lukewarm. Remove the vanilla pod and skim off any skin from the surface.
- Preheat oven: Set the oven to 130°C (265°F) or 120°C (fan). Arrange four ⅔ cup (150 ml) ramekins in a deep baking pan suitable for a water bath.
- Boil water: Boil a kettle of water to prepare the water bath for baking.
- Whisk yolks and sugar: In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup caster sugar until just combined, avoiding over-whisking to prevent bubbles.
- Combine cream and eggs: Gently stir the lukewarm cream into the egg yolk mixture, then distribute evenly into the ramekins using a soup ladle.
- Add water bath: Carefully pour the boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins, ensuring the ramekins remain stable and do not float.
- Bake custards: Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the custard is set but still has a slight wobble when gently shaken.
- Cool and chill: Remove ramekins from the water bath and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight up to 3 days.
- Prepare toffee topping: Just before serving, sprinkle 1/2 tsp caster sugar evenly over each custard’s surface.
- Caramelize sugar with blow torch: Use a culinary blow torch to melt and caramelize the sugar topping, creating a crisp toffee crust. Serve immediately.
- Alternatively, caramelize under grill: If you prefer, preheat the grill to high and place the chilled custards under the grill until the sugar melts and caramelizes (approx. 1 minute). Then refrigerate again for 20 minutes to 1 hour before serving to reset the custard near the surface.
- Check texture: The custard should be very creamy, resembling thick yogurt rather than firm jelly or cake. It should barely hold shape when scooped and melt in your mouth on tasting.
Notes
- Use leftover egg whites in other recipes to minimize waste.
- If using vanilla bean paste instead of a pod, skip the hour-long infusion step but allow cream to cool to lukewarm before mixing.
- Ensure the water bath level is halfway up ramekins to promote even gentle cooking.
- Do not whisk the egg yolks and sugar excessively to avoid bubbles in the custard.
- The ideal texture is delicate and creamy, not firm or sliceable.
- Crème Brûlée can be refrigerated up to 3 days before caramelizing the sugar crust.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Keywords: Crème Brûlée, Vanilla Custard, French Dessert, Caramelized Sugar, Classic Dessert
