Crème Brûlée
Easy recipe for homemade crème brûlée, this classic French dessert consists of a creamy custard base topped with a layer of hard caramelized sugar.
Servings 8 portions
Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy cream - 3 cups = 710ml
- 1 vanilla bean pod - or 2 tsp vanilla extract if you don’t have a vanilla pod
- 2-3 orange peels - optional
- 8 egg yolks
- ½ cup superfine or regular sugar - ½ cup sugar = 100 grams
For caramelizing the sugar on top:
- ~1 tbs sugar per ramekin
Instructions
- Heat the cream with the orange peels (if using) and vanilla bean over medium heat until it almost starts to boil.
- Remove the mix from the heat and let it cool down.
- Preheat the oven to 300F / 150C.
- Remove the orange peel and vanilla pod from the cream. Slice the vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds out. Add the seeds back to the cream mix. If using vanilla extract instead of the pod, add the extract at this point.
- Use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks and sugar over medium speed until creamy and pale.
- Slowly stir in the cooled-down cream mix to the egg yolk/sugar mix. For best results, add a small amount (1/4 cup-1/2 cup first) and then gradually add the rest.
- Strain the mix (for a perfectly smooth texture), pour it into ramekins, and cover with foil.
- Bake at 300F in a water bath for ~55-60 minutes for the more shallow ramekins and close to 1 hour 15 minutes for the deeper ones.
- Cool down, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
- To serve, sprinkle each ramekin with ~1 tbs of sugar, and use a torch to melt and burn the sugar. You can also place the ramekins on a tray and put them under the broiler in a preheated oven to burn the sugar. Serve immediately.
