R.M.P Marotta Long Island

Crème brûlée is a rich and creamy chilled custard topped with a layer of hardened caramelized brown sugar that cracks when you tap it with a spoon. It’s the ultimate decadent dessert to serve when entertaining! Submitted by Karen Updated on December 6, 2024 Tested by Allrecipes Test Kitchen

overhead view of creme brulee garnished with strawberries and blueberries in a large casserole dish 131 Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Additional Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins

Servings: 5

This classic crème brûlée recipe is on par with what you’d get at a 5-star restaurant, but it’s surprisingly easy to make at home. What Is Crème Brûlée?

Crème brûlée is a decadent French dessert consisting of a custard base and a caramelized sugar crust. The treat is traditionally served in individual ramekins. You can use a butane torch to achieve the perfect caramelization if you’d like, but this crème brûlée recipe is easily finished under your oven’s broiler. Crème Brûlée Ingredients

These are the ingredients you’ll need to make perfect crème brûlée:

· Egg yolks: This classic crème brûlée recipe starts with egg yolks, ensuring a rich dessert. · White sugar: You’ll need six tablespoons of white sugar — four for the custard and two for the caramelized topping. · Vanilla: A dash of vanilla extract adds complexity and enhances the overall flavor of this crème brûlée. · Cream: Heavy whipping cream is whisked into the egg yolks over low heat until nice and thick. · Brown sugar: A blend of white and brown sugars is sprinkled over the custard and broiled until perfectly caramelized. creme brûlée in ramekins with raspberries on the side Allrecipes Video How to Make Crème Brûlée

You’ll find the full, step-by-step recipe below — but here’s a brief overview of what you can expect when you make this top-rated crème brûlée:

1. Make the custard: Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Heat the cream until it’s almost boiling, then whisk the cream into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a double boiler and stir over simmering water until thick.
2. Bake and chill the custard: Pour the mixture into crème brûlée dishes or ramekins. Bake in a preheated oven until set. Cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge.
3. Caramelize the sugar: Sprinkle each custard with a blend of brown and white sugars. Place under your oven’s broiler until the sugar is melted and caramelized. Chill before serving. Nicole’s Best Crème Brûlée Tips

“Crème brûlée is one of those things that sounds a whole lot fancier than it is,” according to culinary producer Nicole McLaughlin (a.k.a. NicoleMcMom). “All we’re doing is making a custard — you’ve got this.” Here are a few of her best crème brûlée tips and tricks:

· It’s important to temper (or slowly add) your egg yolks to the cream. If you pour them straight into the hot cream, Nicole says, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. · Pull the crème brûlée out of the oven when it’s still slightly jiggly, kind of like you would a cheesecake. It will continue to set as it cools. · You’ll know the crème brûlée is perfect and ready-to-eat when it makes an audible “tap, tap, tap” sound when you tap the hardened sugar with the back of your spoon. closeup of spoonful of creme brulee Naomi Gutierrez Can You Make Crème Brûlée Ahead of Time?

Absolutely! You can make the crème brûlée’s custard base up to two days in advance — just cover each ramekin tightly and store in the refrigerator. When you’re almost ready to serve dessert, sprinkle with the sugar blend and broil until caramelized. Chill for at least 10 minutes before serving. Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

“Doubled this,” says Amy Marlin. “It was a huge hit with everyone, especially our gluten-free friends who hadn’t thought about creme brulee as an option!”

“We’re not all pastry chefs and have no desire to make life that complicated,” according to Pops the Cook. “This recipe worked very well as written. Smooth, creamy, delicious!!”

“Just [make sure to] add the hot cream to the eggs really slowly so that they don’t cook and this is a winner,” says Joan-Marie. “I’ve made it several times and it never fails to impress.”

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1x 2x 4x

Original recipe (1X) yields 5 servings6 egg yolks 6 tablespoons white sugar, divided ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 2 ½ cups heavy cream 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions Ingredients 1x 2x 4x

Original recipe (1X) yields 5 servings6 egg yolks 6 tablespoons white sugar, divided ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 2 ½ cups heavy cream 2 tablespoons brown sugar Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Whisk egg yolks, 4 tablespoons white sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until thick and creamy; set aside. Overhead of egg yolks being whisked together in a bowl. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Pour cream into a saucepan and stir over low heat until it almost comes to a boil. Whisk cream into egg yolk mixture; beat until combined. Cream being poured into an egg yolk mixture and whisked together in a bowl. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Pour mixture into the top pan of a double boiler. Stir over simmering water until mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Overhead of a cream mixture heating up in a pot with a wooden spoon resting on top. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Pour into a shallow heat-proof dish or individual ramekins. Overhead of cream mixture being poured into four heat-proof dishes resting on a baking sheet. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Bake in the preheated oven until custard is set but still slightly jiggly, about 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or overnight. Overhead of four baked custards in white baking dishes. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Turn the oven to broil. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons white sugar and brown sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle mixture evenly over custard. Overhead of four baked custards being sprinkled with a white and brown sugar mixture. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Place dish under the broiler until sugar melts and caramelizes, about 2 minutes. Watch carefully so as not to burn. Overhead of three baked creme brûlées in white baking dishes. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Allow to cool slightly, then refrigerate until custard is set again, about 10 minutes. overhead view of creme brulee garnished with strawberries and blueberries in a large casserole dish DOTDASH MEREDITH FOOD STUDIOS

Cook’s Note

I like to serve the crème brûlées with either fresh mangos sprinkled with rum or strawberries with Grand Marnier or Cointreau. 1,079 home cooks made it! Nutrition Facts (per serving) 561 Calories 50g Fat 24g Carbs 6g Protein

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1,079 home cooks made it! Most helpful positive review dfwfoodie 01/28/2008 I’ve made this creme brulee over and over for the last couple years and it’s a big hit each time. I followed the suggestions from CHEFPEON. I do lower the temp of the oven to 350 and cook 20 mins though. turns out great! Featured Tweaks CHEFPEON 09/11/2003 The ingredients and the amounts given in this recipe are fine, but as a professional pastry chef, I don’t feel that the way it is prepared is the very BEST way you can serve Creme Brulee. After pouring a little of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture and whisking briskly, pour the cream/yolk mixture into the rest of the cream and whisk. There will be a lot of foam on the top. Skim this off with a strainer and throw away. The double boiler step is not necessary. Pour the hot mixture into individual serving dishes or ramekins and place in a baking dish. Set the dish with the ramekins in it on your oven shelf, then pour hot water in the dish so the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake at 375 anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. They are done when you shake the dish gently and the brulees jiggle just slightly in the middle. The jiggle shouldn’t be a liquid jiggle, but more of a gelatin-like jiggle. Remove from oven and let the brulees cool in the water bath for about 15 minutes, then remove and put the brulees in the refrigerator to chill. Just before serving, sprinkle the tops with white granulated sugar and shake off the excess. Place under broiler til caramelized or use a propane torch to burn the tops. Serve immediately. Part of the fun of Creme Brulee comes from the crispiness of the burnt top compared to the creaminess of the custard. When you burn the top and then re-refrigerate the custards, the top will become soft again, which isn’t as pleasing to t Read More Nym 12/27/2011 This is a decent creme brulee recipe, but I have 3 suggestions that I feel makes a huge difference. 1- When I have made creme brulee in the past, I have added my hot milk to my whipped egg yolk/sugar mixture slowly. After that I add that mixture directly into my ramekins. I don’t believe you need to add it back to your double boiler for the 3 mins suggested. 2- I always place my ramekins in a deep baking pan in about a half inch water. When I tried this recipe, I did some each way (with and without the water bath), and the ones in the water were lighter and fluffier. It definitely is worth the extra step. 3- Brown sugar melts differently than white on top. I noted the brown sugar actually burned before the white, which didn’t give the desired hardened sugar affect and also affected taste. I have always used just white granulated sugar, and I think this works better. Excellent creme brulee. Enjoy! Read More FluffyLadle1746 12/05/2022 Here are the comments from CHEFPEON I copied in 2014. Its still the best. Enjoy!The ingredients and the amounts given in this recipe are fine, but as a professional pastry chef, I don’t feel that the way it is prepared is the very BEST way you can serve Creme Brulee. After pouring a little of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture and whisking briskly, pour the cream/yolk mixture into the rest of the cream and whisk. There will be a lot of foam on the top. Skim this off with a strainer and throw away. The double boiler step is not necessary. Pour the hot mixture into individual serving dishes or ramekins and place in a baking dish. Set the dish with the ramekins in it on your oven shelf, then pour hot water in the dish so the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake at 375 anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. They are done when you shake the dish gently and the brulees jiggle just slightly in the middle. The jiggle shouldn’t be a liquid jiggle, but more of a gelatin-like jiggle. Remove from oven and let the brulees cool in the water bath for about 15 minutes, then remove and put the brulees in the refrigerator to chill. Just before serving, sprinkle the tops with white granulated sugar and shake off the excess. Place under broiler til caramelized or use a propane torch to burn the tops. Serve immediately. Part of the fun of Creme Brulee comes from the crispiness of the burnt top compared to the creaminess of the custard. When you burn the top and then re-refrigerate the custards, the top will become soft again, which isn’t as pleasing to taste. Read More Nick Gard – Super Dad RSA 05/10/2020 I made this for my wife for Mother’s Day in South Africa. I had my 12 and 8 year old cook it with me. I used to be in the food industry and cooked these for umpteen years but lost all my recipes many years ago, and it’s not one that I make often. So found this and tried it. Really simple, no mess recipe. As all creme brûlée’s should be. I couldn’t get my hands on vanilla extract this time so my only mod was 2 1/2 teaspoons of essence instead. 1 1/2 in the sugar mixture, and 1 in the cream. I also cooked them for 4 more mins as I had 6 dishes, and used cold tap water in my Bain Marie. To stop the custard from melting when adding you caramel I always prepare them a day before. Then use a decent blow torch and not to thick a sugar coating and you should be fine. This was a Really good recipe. As always taking the cream off at the right time. Cooking them till still a bit wobbly but with a fitness around the edge. Take them out the water, put them in a dish and straight into a fridge. Then the consistency should be perfect when eating. Read More Kohrings Cottage Goods 12/24/2023 Professional chef here with a few ways to help you improve this recipeBake in a waterbath. This will insure that you dont end up with a curdled cremePoor yoir cream into the eggs slower than you think as to not make very bad egg drop soup (I start with less than a teaspoon at a yime and as you temper the eggs start adding more and more at a time untill about half the cream is incorporated then you can poor in the rest)Optionally yoi can strain the batter and after adding to yhe ramekins give them a firm tap on the counter this will help rid the batter of large arebubbles helping with a smoother textureBrown sugar on top although not bad Id recommend just using straight white sugar or sugar in the rawHope these help krep cooking its an art Read More nelle 12/26/2019 This Creme brulee is very good but only if you follow the changes that chefpeon mentioned, no double boiler needed, YES water bath, YES 375 deg 15-30 minutes (it only takes 15 min for mine), YES remove the foam. I’ve tried several types and combinations of sugar for the top and I find that super fine white sugar (not ultra fine which is bakers or caster sugar) works best, with standard white sugar a very close second. When using a brown sugar combo, the brown sugar needs to be dried first as the extra moisture requires too much torching. Brown sugar is also a bit too course I find so it needs to be processed in a coffee grinder or food processor. I personally found no advantage to using a brown sugar combo, not even for flavor. I also use vanilla bean paste in place of the extract for the flecks of bean simply because I prefer it. This needs to be made in the large, flat ramekins. The small ones are too deep to yield a consistent pudding, i.e. too runny in the center. Also, you do not want to get water in your custard so pour the hot water in your baking pan very carefully. Read More Elizabeth 08/20/2018 I’ve made this several times now using CHEFPEON’s suggestions. The only area I have run into issues is the sugar layer. Do NOT use dark brown sugar as it burns way too easily! Mix the light brown sugar and white sugar until there are no clumps. Add a thick layer sugar to the custard, shake off the excess so that it has at least a thin coating the whole surface. Then sprinkle on a just a little more sugar and evenly distributing it with the back of the spoon. I like to add a strawberry sliced into 8 pieces in a star pattern with a dab of whipped creme in the center. Read More Suzanna Fleming 02/20/2020 I made it twice and it was delicious, even with just cinnamon on top instead of sugar. My sister can’t have brown sugar though, so I tried a substitute and didn’t really get that crunchy top. It was still good. I just wondered why the video showed the ceramics placed in a dry metal pan. The first time, I tried a dry pan and the custard nearly curdled. When I poured in hot water before placing in the ceramics, the creme brulee baked evenly and was smooth. Ya live and learn. Read More Gina West 02/26/2019 I’ve made this recipe several times using Chefpeon’s review and suggestions. It is so delicious and creamy, I always get rave reviews. I have done it in the oven and it was good, but since getting a sous vide it’s the only way I make it now. I double the recipe and fill 12 to14 8oz mason jars evenly. I close finger tight, put them in the water (before the water is heated), heat it to 185 and then cook an hour. I cool about 30 minutes on the counter then put in the fridge and chill until cold throughout (at least 4 hours if possible and overnight better). Before serving I add sugar on top and torch and chill another 5 minutes. So easy and there is enough for us to have dessert for several days! Read More Gretch 08/15/2017 Easy recipe and came out wonderful. In place of the vanilla extract I used a little over 2“ worth of vanilla bean. I added the vanilla bean seeds to the sauce pan with the cream to help better disperse the seeds and get the flavor infused. The resulting custard had the perfect amount of vanilla flavor. Read More 385 Reviews Allrecipes Member 04/06/2025 Did not work Before I comment want to assure you folks that I didn’t over cook custard in water bath, it was good looking and just coated my spoon. First time not using a water bath, and boy I was sorry. The consistency was way off of what it should be. One of the worst, to thick brulee’s that I have ever made, and I have made a few. Used a real expensive vanilla bean to. Did not work for me or my company. Read More Allrecipes Member 02/14/2025 Worth the effortCrowd-pleaserFamily favorite I love it and have had many compliments from friends for its flavor and creamy texture. I have never used Brown sugar on top but it does enhance the overall flavor. Mike Smith 01/06/2024 Quick, easy, straightforward, although, I find water basting works the best, also, when it enters the oven, put it on the lower rack so that the overhead elements don’t over cook the top. As for the top caramelized sugar, then you can put it on the highest rack setting, so as to focus heat on top. All in all, great recipe, will do it again. Read More FancyUdo5548 01/01/2024 Follow CHEFPEON comments and the creme brulee will be fabulous! Delicious dessert and so easy to make! SereneStraw2045 10/09/2023 great aeonicos 09/30/2023 Excellent recipe. BubblyCup7653 12/31/2022 i used more sugar for the top shell. I also found putting it under the broiler to start the sugar and finishing with torch took less time with torch with same results. FunkyLadle2828 08/27/2022 We liked this recipe. It is best warm from the oven, but of course chilled is great as well. The caramelized sugar was just right. KeenSalt7980 08/24/2022 So easy, definitely a family favorite. 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