The Simplest Crème Brûlée
Simple. Silky. Decadent. The Simplest Crème Brûlée is rich, creamy, and can be easily mastered with a few simple tips!
Crème Brûlée is one of my favourite simple and delicious desserts to make for special occasions! This recipe is a staple in my stress-free kitchen and only requires 5 ingredients, less 10 minutes to prepare, and is effortlessly elegant!
What is the difference between crème brûlée and crème caramel?
Crème brûlée and crème caramel are both baked custard desserts – Crème brûlée is a rich custard made with egg yolks, sugar, and heavy cream while crème caramel is a lighter custard that typically uses whole eggs, sugar, and milk. Another important difference between the two relates to the use of caramelized sugar – in crème brûlée, a caramelized sugar topping is created for you to crack into while you are eating it from the ramekin while crème caramel has caramelized sugar at the base of the custard and after baking is inverted to create a caramel sauce!
Can I use milk instead of heavy cream?
Part of crème brûlée’s decadence comes from the richness of heavy cream. While you can substitute milk for your crème brûlée the resultant custard will be thinner and lighter in consistency.
What is the best sugar to use for caramelizing on top of crème brûlée?
I find that granulated sugar most uniformly caramelizes on top of the crème brûlée creating a smooth and delicate, sugar crunch! Brown sugar and maple sugar both result in a darker, caramelized layer that more easily burns on torching.
To make this recipe, you will need:
- Heavy Cream
- Sugar
- Eggs (yolks)
- Vanilla (vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract)
- Salt
Let’s make the Simplest Crème Brûlée!
Preheat oven to 325F (300F convection bake). Place 4 ramekins into a ~2″ deep baking/casserole dish. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until light and creamy.
Meanwhile, heat heavy cream until boiling (Note: this can be done in a saucepan or in 30s increments in the microwave). Once boiling, stir in vanilla and salt.
Slowly add cream mixture to egg yolk/sugar mixture (Note: I recommend adding no more than 1/2 cup of cream mixture at a time and whisking vigorously to prevent curdling the egg yolks).
Evenly distribute cream mixture into 4 ramekins (Note: You can also distribute mixture into 5 ramekins if this works best for your ramekin shape/size).
Fill your baking/casserole dish with boiling hot water so that it covers the base and ~1″ of the height of each ramekin.
Bake at 325F for ~35-45min or until the sides of each crème brûlée are set and the centre is slightly wobbly (Note: after 35 minutes, I recommend checking crème brûlée every 5 minutes until the right consistency is achieved). Remove ramekins from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature.
Once crème brûlées have cooled to room temperature, cover in plastic wrap and chill for 1h to overnight.
Brûlée: Unwrap each crème brûlée. Add 1-2 tsp of granulated sugar to the top of each, gently rotating to evenly distribute sugar. Using a kitchen torch, heat the tops of each until golden brown/caramelized.
Break through caramelized topping and enjoy!
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The Simplest Crème Brûlée
Ingredients
- 3 Egg Yolks large
- 2 cups (475ml) Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup (100g) Granulated Sugar + additional for brûlée
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (300F convection bake). Place 4 ramekins into a ~2" deep baking/casserole dish. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until creamy.
- Meanwhile, heat heavy cream until boiling (Note: this can be done in a saucepan or in 30s increments in the microwave). Once boiling, stir in vanilla and salt.
- Slowly add cream mixture to egg yolk/sugar mixture (I recommend adding no more than 1/2 cup of cream mixture at a time and whisking vigorously so as to not curdle the eggs).
- Evenly distribute cream mixture into 4 ramekins (Note: You can also distribute mixture into 5 ramekins if this works best for your ramekin shape).
- Fill your baking/casserole dish with boiling hot water so that it covers the base and ~1" of the height of each ramekin.
- Bake at 325F for ~35-45min or until the sides of each crème brûlée are set and the centre is slightly wobbly (Note: after 35 minutes, I recommend checking crème brûlée every 5 minutes until done). Remove ramekins from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature.
- Once crème brûlée's have cooled to room temperature, cover in plastic wrap and chill for 1h to overnight.
- Brûlée by Kitchen Torch: Unwrap each crème brûlée. Add 1-2 tsp of granulated sugar to the top of each, gently rotating to evenly distribute sugar. Using a kitchen torch, heat the tops of each until golden brown/caramelized.
- Brûlée by Oven: Unwrap each crème brûlée. Add 1-2 tsp of granulated sugar to the top of each, gently rotating to evenly distribute sugar. Set Oven to broil. Place ramekins in the oven for 30s at a time until caramelized (Note: Do not step away from your oven!! Your crème brûlée can quickly burn if left unattended).
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Combining the hot milk with the egg yolk mixture too quickly will cause the eggs to scramble! Go slow!
- In the event that you have some curdled egg pieces in your custard, don’t panic! To get a smoother custard use a strainer to remove the coarse particles.
- Creating a water bath in a large baking/casserole dish develops a moist and humid environment for the crème brûlée to set into that perfectly smooth, creamy texture
- Want to get rid of the air bubbles? While I find that the air bubbles that can form on the surface of your crème brûlée are typically hidden after topping with caramelized sugar, if you want to ensure a perfectly smooth skin, you can remove the air bubbles with a spoon prior to baking.
