Between the creamy vanilla custard and the crisp sugar topping, this French dessert is the perfect combination of textures. Despite being topped with sugar, crème brûlée isn’t too sweet due to the complex flavors brought about with the caramelization. Though many restaurants use a blowtorch to caramelize the sugar, it can be done easily at home using your oven’s broiler.
Crème Brûlée Recipe
This French crème brûlée recipe serves 6 people.
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 ¾ cup of half-and-half
- 4 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract)
- 2 tablespoons of granulated or raw sugar, reserved for caramelizing
How to Make Crème Brûlée
- Preheat your oven to 325F.
- In a bowl, whisk together your yolks with 4 tablespoons of sugar and vanilla.
- In a pot, warm your half-and-half. Slowly add into your egg yolks, drizzling in a bit at a time, while continuously whisking so as not to cook your yolks.
- Fill 6 ramekins with your mixture, then place in a baking pan filled with cold water (about half the height of the ramekins), taking care not to get water into your egg mixture.
- Place in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the egg mixture is no longer liquid, but still jiggles when shaken.
- Chill for a minimum of 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- To caramelize: cover evenly with the remaining sugar, then place in broiler until desired color is reached, keeping an eye out so it doesn’t burn.