Favorite Creme Brulee Recipe (With Video)

Yield:

6

You might think it's reserved for dessert at a fancy restaurant, but you can enjoy the French classic at home with this favorite crème brûlée recipe. All you need are four ingredients: heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar, and a vanilla bean. You'll make a custard on the stovetop, cook it in individual ramekins in the oven, cool, and refrigerate it. When it's time to serve, top the custards with sugar and caramelize them with a kitchen torch or under the broiler. Then comes the delicious payoff, tap the brûléed sugar topping with your spoon and enjoy the caramelized sugar crust and the smooth, creamy custard underneath.

What Is Crème Brûlée?

Crème brûlée is a decadent French dessert with a creamy pudding-like baked custard base and a brittle caramelized sugar top that cracks when tapped with a spoon. Typically prepared in individual ramekins, the custard should be cool and the sugar crust warm or at room temperature when served.

Make-Ahead

Crème brûlée is a make-ahead dessert because you need to make, cook, and chill the custard before adding the sugar and caramelizing. The custard needs a minimum of four hours of chilling, but you can make it up to three days ahead and refrigerated. Add the sugar and caramelize right before serving.

Directions

Preheat oven and combine cream, vanilla, and sugar:

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a small saucepan, combine cream, vanilla bean and seeds, and 3/4 cup granulated sugar;
Cook:

Place pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles start to form around the edges of the pan. Do not boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
Whisk yolks and slowly add hot cream:

Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl; while whisking constantly, slowly add hot cream mixture to egg yolks. Continue whisking until smooth.
Strain custard:

Strain custard mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large liquid measuring cup; discard solids.
Assemble ramekins in roasting pan and fill with custard:

Place six shallow 7-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan; transfer roasting pan to oven. Fill each ramekin to the top with custard mixture.
Add hot water to make a bain marie and bake custards:

Add enough hot water to baking pan so that it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until custard is set and trembles slightly when shaken, about 40 minutes.
Cool and refrigerate:

Remove ramekins from water bath and transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 30 minutes. Transfer ramekins to refrigerator and let chill for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.
Top with sugar and caramelize:

To serve, sprinkle each ramekin of custard with 1 tablespoon remaining granulated sugar. Using a kitchen torch held 4 to 5 inches from the surface, melt sugar using a slow and even motion, until sugar is caramelized. Serve immediately.