Classic Homemade Crème Brûlée is a rich, creamy custard with melted sugar crust on top. Now you can make this restaurant style dessert at home!
Do you love Crème Brûlée? Do you only have it when you go to a restaurant because you think it's hard to make? Well guess what, it's actually really simple to make!
You can do it! I promise it's not hard to make. This Homemade Classic Crème Brûlée is so rich and creamy! Let me show you how.
Making Crème Brûlée is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3!
1) Make the custard.
2) Bake the custard.
3) Melt the sugar on top.
You don't even need a kitchen torch to melt the sugar.
I burned the sugar in my oven under the broiler. Easy peazy!
How to Make the Custard Part of Crème Brûlée in a Nutshell
1) Heat cream and sugar until just about simmering on Medium heat. Turn heat off.
2) Stir together egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl.
3) Add a small amounts of hot cream into egg yolks, stirring constantly, until egg yolks are very warm.
4) Stir tempered egg yolk mixture into hot cream. Turn heat on to Medium and stir together one minute.
5) Pour custard into ramekins that are in a large pan. Place in 350°F. oven and carefully add water to pan (not in custard).
6) Bake 35 minutes. Let cool. Chill in refrigerator.
How to Make the Melted Sugar Crust of Crème Brûlée
1) Add a generous amount of brown sugar to each custard cup.
2) Place under broiler for about 1 minute (watch closely to make sure it doesn't burn).
3) Let cool and serve!
4) Note: If you have a kitchen torch, you can use that to melt the sugar INSTEAD of the broiler.
What makes Homemade Classic Crème Brûlée so special is the wonderful contrast between the hard sugar surface on top and the soft, creamy custard underneath. The tap, tap, tap on the sugary crust is the best part of the eating experience!
I hope you will try this recipe! Let me know how you like it in the comments below. Share your pics on Instagram and tag @momlovesbaking!
Classic Homemade Crème Brûlée
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- Garnish: fresh berries & mint
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place egg yolks in a medium bowl. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Pour cream into a medium sized heavy saucepan. Add granulated sugar and pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Continue stirring and turn the burner onto medium heat. Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves and the cream just starts to simmer. Turn heat off.
- Add a few tablespoons of hot cream to egg yolks as you stir vigorously. Keep adding small amounts of hot cream to the egg yolks until they are very warm. Then pour egg yolk mixture into cream mixture. Turn burner to medium heat and stir constantly for about a minute. Remove from heat.
Place six (4 oz.) porcelain ramekins on a pan with a raised edge. I actually used two (13x9) aluminum baking pans with 3 ramekins per pan. Pour custard into ramekins. Then CAREFULLY pour boiling water into pan (not touching the custard) so that you have about 1-inch of water surrounding the ramekins.
- Carefully place pans in oven. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill until ready to serve. When you're ready to serve (after at least 1 hour or overnight), add brown sugar to the top of each custard dish. Turn the broiler on and let them broil for about 1 minute (about 5 inches from the heating element) or until sugar melts. Watch it closely to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Let cool, then garnish and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
If you DO want to use a kitchen torch to melt the sugar, here's one on Amazon (affiliate):
You might also like this Baked Alaska Ice Cream Pie
Here's another restaurant style dessert you can make at home: Ultimate Triple Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake
Julie says
Yum! I love creme brulee! Thank you for sharing!
Lise Ode says
It's SO good! Enjoy! xo