French · Dessert · Medium
Creme Brulee
Silky vanilla bean custard with a glass thin caramelized sugar crust that cracks under your spoon. Six ingredients, one torch, pure elegance.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Creme Brulee, in 5 ideas
- The water bath is essential, it keeps the custard silky instead of rubbery.
- Strain the custard to catch any bits of cooked egg for a perfectly smooth finish.
- A kitchen torch gives the thinnest, most even crust, the broiler is uneven and risky.
- Torch just before serving, the crust softens after about an hour in the fridge.
- Pull them when the center still jiggles slightly, the custard finishes setting as it chills.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for the tops
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 tsp superfine sugar, for torching
How to make it
Directions
- Heat the cream with the vanilla bean and seeds until steaming, then steep 20 minutes off the heat. Remove the pod.
- Whisk the yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt until pale, then slowly whisk in the warm cream.
- Strain the custard into a pitcher, then divide among 6 ramekins set in a roasting pan.
- Pour hot water into the pan to come halfway up the ramekins and bake at 300F for 35 to 40 minutes until the edges are set with a gentle wobble in the center.
- Cool, then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Before serving, sprinkle 1 tsp sugar over each custard and torch until melted and amber. Rest 2 minutes so the crust hardens.
Save the leftover egg whites in the freezer for meringues or omelets, they keep for months and you never pay for waste.