Description
A classic French vanilla custard dessert featuring a rich, creamy base topped with a crisp caramelized sugar crust. This Crème Brûlée recipe uses infused vanilla cream and slow baking in a water bath to achieve a perfectly smooth and luscious texture, finished with a caramelized toffee topping either by blow torch or grill.
Ingredients
Scale
Custard
- 2 cups pure cream (Australia) / heavy cream (US)
- 1 vanilla pod OR 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
Toffee Topping
- 2 tsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
Instructions
- Vanilla bean preparation: Split the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a small knife. Place both seeds and the pod in a saucepan with the cream.
- Infuse cream: Slowly simmer the cream mixture uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to infuse, covered, for 1 hour. If using vanilla bean paste instead, simply let the cream cool to lukewarm. Remove the vanilla pod and skim any skin from the surface.
- Preheat oven and prepare ramekins: Set oven to 130°C (265°F) or 120°C (250°F) fan. Place four 2/3 cup (150 ml) ramekins in a baking pan with sides high enough to hold water halfway up the ramekins.
- Boil water: Bring a kettle of water to a boil for the water bath.
- Mix egg yolks and sugar: Whisk egg yolks with 1/4 cup caster sugar gently until combined, avoiding excessive whisking to prevent bubbles.
- Add cream to egg yolks: Pour the infused cream into the egg mixture and gently stir to combine. Ladle the custard mixture evenly into the ramekins.
- Water bath: Carefully pour boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins, ensuring they remain stable.
- Bake custards: Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the custard is set but still slightly wobbly when the ramekin is gently shaken.
- Chill custards: Remove ramekins from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, for best texture (can be kept up to 3 days).
- Prepare toffee topping: Just before serving, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon caster sugar evenly over the surface of each custard.
- Blow torch caramelization: Use a kitchen blow torch to melt and caramelize the sugar, creating the classic hard toffee crust. Serve immediately.
- Alternatively grill caramelization: After refrigerating overnight, preheat the grill to high. Place the custards under the grill for about 1 minute or until the sugar melts and caramelizes. Chill again for at least 20 minutes to let the topping set before serving.
- Texture notes: The custard should have a texture similar to very thick yogurt – firm enough to hold but soft and creamy, melting in the mouth rather than sliceable or jelly-like.
Notes
- If using leftover egg whites, they can be frozen or used in other recipes like meringues.
- For vanilla flavor, vanilla bean pods offer the best aroma, but vanilla bean paste is a convenient alternative.
- Careful with water level in bath to avoid ramekins floating during baking.
- Do not overwhisk the egg yolks to avoid air bubbles, which affect the custard’s smooth texture.
- Chill time is essential for custard to set properly and develop flavor.
- For caramelizing sugar, a blow torch gives best control; grill method is a good alternative if a torch is unavailable.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 1 hour for cream infusion and at least 6 hours chilling)
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Keywords: Crème Brûlée, French dessert, vanilla custard, caramelized sugar, baked custard, classic dessert
