Easy Classic Crème Brûlée Recipes

CLASSIC CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Place the cream in a saucepan.
• If you're using vanilla bean to flavor your custard base, split the vanilla bean lengthwise in half. Use the back of your knife to scrape out the caviar. Add the caviar and the vanilla bean pod to the cream. Whisk to combine.
• Heat the cream over medium / medium-high heat until the cream is steaming and just starts to simmer (not boiling).
• Let it sit for about 5 -10 minutes to allow the vanilla bean to infuse into the cream. It's OK to leave it for longer as well.
• When the cream is infused with the vanilla bean, remove the vanilla bean pod from the cream. (If you want, you can strain the mix as well, but make sure the caviar stays in the cream).
• Place the egg yolks in a large bowl or jug. Add the sugar (make sure to add the right amount depending on the baking dishes), pinch of salt and bourbon (if using), and whisk together to form a paste.
• Place the bowl with the egg mixture on a non-slipping surface (i.e. you can keep the bowl on top of a wet cloth napkin or thick paper towel). While whisking constantly, add the hot cream mix in small additions to the egg mixture. The eggs will have tempered enough when about half of the cream is added. Then add the rest of the cream and whisk gently to combine.
• The custard mixture may have some bubbles on the surface at this point. Cover and let it rest to allow the bubbles to subside. You can also gently stir to remove some of the bubbles.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F / 170°C.
• Place the individual baking dishes on a baking tray or roasting dish. Fill the baking dishes about ¾ of the way with the custard. SEE NOTES FOR MORE DETAILS.
• Place the tray/pan with the filled baking dishes in the preheated oven. Pour HOT WATER (the hottest water you can get from the tap should be fine) into the baking tray/pan until it reaches halfway up the individual baking dishes.
• Bake for 15 - 40 minutes (depending on the size of the baking dishes) until the custard reaches an internal temperature of about 175 - 180°F. The custards will be a little jiggly in the center and that's OK. SEE NOTES FOR BAKING TIME VARIATIONS.
• Remove from the oven, and then remove the baking dishes from the water bath as well. Allow the custard to cool down to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and let them chill overnight.
• Before serving, caramelize the sugar on the surface of the creme brulee. There are two ways to do this.
• Sprinkle a little sugar evenly over the surface of the custard. Make sure the sugar layer is not too thick so it can caramelize quickly.
• If you used shallow and wide dishes, you may use slightly more sugar to cover the whole surface are. For smaller but deeper dishes, you can use less sugar on the surface.
• Use a blow torch to caramelize the sugar on the surface. The sugar should first melt, and start to bubble, and then turn from a light golden color to an amber color. Make sure to caramelize all the sugar without staying in one place for too long. Too much heat can curdle the custard underneath.
• Let the caramelized sugar cool down (just for a minute or two), and then the sugar should be hard to the touch. Serve immediately.
• In a non-stick pan, add about 2 tsp of white sugar per portion of creme brulee you will be serving (you can use 3 tsp per portion if you want to make extra).
• Shake the pan to evenly distribute the sugar in one layer on the bottom of the pan.
• Heat the pan on medium heat and shake it occasionally to caramelize the sugar evenly. The sugar will first melt, and then start turning yellow and rapidly caramelize to an amber color. As the sugar starts to darken to a golden color, turn off the heat. The caramel will continue to cook and turn dark golden/amber in color.
• As soon as the caramel turns dark golden in color, remove the pan from the heat and GENTLY pour about 1 - 2 tsp of caramel over the custard, and return the pan to the stove that's still warm (but switched off). You will need to eye ball the amount of caramel here, since you don't want to use measuring spoons to measure it out.
• Quickly swirl the creme brulee dish to distribute the caramel evenly on the surface. Repeat with the rest of the dishes. You may need to adjust the amount of sugar to add depending on how you go with the first one. This part needs to be done quickly, while the caramel is still fluid. The caramel hardens up quickly.
• When all the creme brulee dishes have been coated with caramel, and the caramel is hard to the touch, serve immediately.

CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Beat egg yolks, 4 tablespoons white sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until thick and creamy.
• Pour cream into a saucepan and stir over low heat until it almost comes to boil. Remove the cream from heat immediately. Stir cream into the egg yolk mixture; beat until combined.
• Pour cream 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. Remove mixture from heat immediately and pour into a shallow heat-proof dish.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to broil.
• In a small bowl combine remaining 2 tablespoons white sugar and brown sugar. Sift this mixture evenly over custard. Place dish under broiler until sugar melts, about 2 minutes. Watch carefully so as not to burn.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until custard is set again.

CLASSIC CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the cream, egg yolks and sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture reaches 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Stir in vanilla. , Transfer to eight 6-oz. ramekins or custard cups. Place cups in a baking pan; add 1 in. of boiling water to pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 25-30 minutes or until centers are just set (mixture will jiggle). Remove ramekins from water bath; cool for 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours., One hour before serving, place custards on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each with 1-2 teaspoons brown sugar. Broil 8 in. from the heat for 4-7 minutes or until sugar is caramelized. Refrigerate leftovers.

CLASSIC CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Place four ½ cup (125 mL) ramekins or custard cups in a baking dish. Set aside.Heat cream in saucepan over medium-high heat until small bubbles form around edge of pan. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and a ¼ cup of sugar until thick and lemon-coloured - about 1 to 2 minutes.
• When cream is hot, gradually whisk into egg yolk mixture. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture through sieve into ramekins, dividing evenly. Pour very hot water into baking dish to reach halfway up ramekins. Carefully place baking dish in oven. Bake until mostly set but with a slight jiggle in the centre, about 30 to 35 minutes for taller ramekins (about 2 inches (5 cm) high), and 25 to 30 minutes for shallow ramekins (about 1 inch (2.5 cm) high).Carefully remove ramekins from water. Cool on wire rack. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Just before serving (or up to 2 hours before serving), sprinkle sugar evenly over surface of desserts (1 tsp for taller ramekins and 1-½ tsp for shallow ramekins). Using a mini torch or by placing the ramekins directly under the broiler, heat until sugar melts and caramelizes. Serve immediately, or for a firmer texture, chill until serving time.

SIMPLE CREME BRULEE DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk 3 tablespoons sugar and cream in a microwave-safe bowl until well combined; heat the mixture in microwave until warm, 1 to 2 minutes, and whisk again to dissolve sugar. Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla extract until smooth.
• Pour cream mixture into 2 ramekins. Set ramekins into a roasting pan and pour in enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake in the preheated oven until creme desserts are set but still slightly jiggly when shaken, about 50 minutes. Remove ramekins from hot water and chill in refrigerator until cold, at least 2 hours.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top of each dessert. Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast and melt the sugar topping until brown and bubbly, about 30 seconds. Let the sugar topping cool before serving. To serve, use a spoon to crack the crisp sugar open to reveal the creamy dessert underneath.

CLASSIC CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Pour cream into a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Using tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean, if using, into cream and add pod (if using vanilla extract, do not add it yet). Heat cream over moderate heat until hot but not boiling; remove from heat and discard pod.
• Whisk together yolks, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking constantly until combined. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and whisk in vanilla extract, if using. Ladle custard into ramekins.
• Arrange ramekins in a roasting pan and add enough boiling water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custards are just set, 25 to 30 minutes. With tongs, transfer custards to a rack to cool, then refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours.
• Just before serving, sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over custards. Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth close to sugar until sugar is caramelized. Let stand until sugar is hardened, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Variation:
• Coffee Crème Brûlée: Stir 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder into the hot cream and proceed as directed.