Easy Homemade Creme Brulee (Better than a Restaurant!)
Crème brûlée feels like a $16 splurge — the kind of dessert people order to feel fancy. But here’s the secret: it’s one of the easiest desserts you can make at home, and four servings cost about the same as one at a restaurant. No fancy skills required, and you have to make it ahead — so it’s actually the least stressful impressive dessert in existence. Keep reading below for my recipe, tips, and tricks to the best Creme Brulee!
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I don’t remember exactly when I started making this homemade creme brulee recipe, but I know it’s been at least 20 years. It became a family favorite from the very beginning, and in the rare times someone in my family orders it out at a restaurant (for $6 or more!), they always say it isn’t as good as mine. It is the required dessert at every holiday family dinner, and I think I just about broke my nephew’s heart the Easter that I made vanilla souffles instead. I won’t make that mistake again!
Why You Should Make Classic French Crème Brûlée at Home
For less than the price of one ramekin of creme brulee at your favorite restaurant, you can make 4 at home. Once you invest in the ramekins and the torch, you only need to buy the basic ingredients (and the occasional torch fuel) whenever the craving strikes. And you aren’t limited to vanilla – be adventurous and try different flavors once you have the basic skills down. This recipe scales up really easily, so go ahead and make a double – or even a quadruple – batch so you have leftovers! One of the best reasons to put classic crème brûlée on your menu for entertaining is that it can be made up to 2 days ahead of time! Just keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it.
Ingredients
Eggs – We only use the yolk in this recipe. Save the whites in the freezer (label them!) for another recipe, such as Swiss meringue buttercream, or omelets.
Heavy Cream – Make sure you use HEAVY cream or HEAVY whipping cream. Light cream, half-and-half, and milk will NOT work here. This isn’t low-calorie, but it’s not a lot, and it’s so delicious, so who cares? It’s well worth the splurge!
Sugar – Use regular white sugar. I haven’t tested it with anything else.
Salt – Add just a pinch to round out the flavor. Don’t skip this!
Vanilla extract or paste – Use either, but make sure it’s the real thing! I also do not actually measure this, i just add a splash and measure with my heart! You can also use a whole bean by slicing it in half, scraping out the seeds, adding the seeds to the egg mixture, and heating the pods in the cream. Discard pods (or save for vanilla sugar) before adding cream to the egg mixture.
Tools
Small saucepan
Whisk
Liquid measuring cups
Dry measuring cups and spoons
Rubber spatula
9×9 or 9×13 cake pan (for larger batches)
Kitchen Torch and Fuel
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put the cream in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until just to the point of boiling. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla until blended.
Into this, add the hot cream a little at a time, whisking as you go until all is incorporated.
Place 4-oz ramekins in a hot water bath and fill them evenly. Use an 8×8 pan for four ramekins, or a 9×13 pan for larger batches with more ramekins. Do NOT get water in the ramekins! Make sure they are completely dry before filling them with the custard, and NEVER let water splash in when filling the pan with water. They won’t set up if there’s water in it. Even a drop will ruin it. Be VERY careful!
Bake for about 35 minutes. Custards should be mostly set, but the centers should still jiggle slightly.
Remove the hot water bath from the oven and cool until the ramekins are comfortable enough to handle. Cover with clear wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
Just before serving, evenly sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of the sugar on the surface of each custard, swirl to make sure it’s evenly covered, and torch until caramelized.
Foil ramekins (available in many colors, including red, pink, black, and gold) took 27 minutes for 4, maybe ⅓-½ water depth in a square metal Cake pan. Still quite jiggly, but because the ramekins are thin, I left them in hot water until cooled, then chilled. The one with more custard coverage (the less full one) was smoothest; the rest were textured on top. Letting the ramekins cool completely in the hot water gently finished cooking them to the perfect temperature. For best results, do not fill the custard above the water level. They will still taste delicious, but the tops will not be smooth.
Tips and tricks
Don’t overmix eggs and sugar; just mix until blended so you don’t whip too many air bubbles in
Make sure you temper the eggs by slowly adding a little hot cream at a time, stirring it in, then adding a little more, stirring it in, etc. This slowly raises the eggs’ temperature to prevent them from scrambling in the hot cream. I often don’t have time to wait for it to cool, and it works fine. Just add slowly, stirring as you go.
Some recipes say to strain the mixture before adding it to ramekins. I don’t do that, but feel free to do it if you want to, especially while learning. It catches any cooked bits of egg that keep the custard from getting creamy.
Learn to make it in ceramic ramekins first, then you can use a foil ramekin if you need a disposable option. They don’t turn out as well and tend to float if there’s too much water, but if you don’t fill them as full and the water comes up to the edge of the filling, you’ll have a much better result.
Do NOT get water in the ramekins! Make sure they are completely dry before filling them with the custard, and NEVER let water splash in when filling the pan with water. They won’t set up if there’s water in it. Even a drop will ruin it. Be VERY careful!
Be careful when burning them. You don’t want to ruin any surfaces or start anything on fire! I tend to burn them on a metal tray, just to be sure I don’t get the countertop or table. DO NOT hold them in your hand to torch them!
I prefer a can of butane and a torch attachment. It’s the most cost-effective, and it’s the next best thing to a full-size shop torch (which my husband has forbidden me to have in our house!). Make sure you disconnect the torch from the butane when you are finished using it.
While torching the tops, slowly move the flame around constantly to achieve evenly browned sugar.
Frequently Asked Questions about Creme Brulee
Do I have to make any changes to scale the recipe up?
You will need to allow extra time for the larger amount of cream to heat up, and the baking time will likely increase. As each oven heats differently, start checking the crème brûlée after 20 minutes to gauge how quickly it is cooking through. The centers should be slightly jiggly. Don’t try to move the pans around, or you will risk splashing water into the ramekins. Check them more often as they get closer to being done.
What if I don’t have a torch?
I highly recommend investing in a torch because it is much easier – and your guests will love the dramatic flame from the torch! But in a pinch, you can put them under the broiler after adding the sugar to the top. You will want to watch them very closely to ensure they don’t burn! And whatever you do, don’t walk away from the oven!
What other flavors of creme brulee can I make?
I’ve made chocolate and mint chocolate variations, but haven’t added those recipes to the website yet. I’ve seen many other flavors, but haven’t tried making them yet. One flavor that really intrigues me is pumpkin! Lavender is all the rage right now, so I have that on my list to make as well. Once you get the hang of vanilla, don’t be afraid to experiment with other flavors! I like to look at restaurant menus for inspiration.
What should I do with the extra egg whites?
Put them in a labeled (and dated) freezer bag or container. You can add them to omelets or save them up to make swiss merengue buttercream.
Easy and Impressive Creme Brulee Recipe Card
Easy Homemade Crème Brûlée Recipe (Better Than a Restaurant!)
Equipment
- 1 small saucepan
- 1 whisk
- 1 Rubber spatula
- 1 medium heatproof glass bowl
- 4 4-oz ramekins see my tools section for my suggestion
- 1 8×8 baking dish 9×13 if doubling
- 1 kitchen torch and fuel see my tools section for my suggestion
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- extra sugar for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Add cream to a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring often, until just before it boils. Tiny bubbles will form around the edges of the pan. Set aside to cool slightly.
- While the cream is heating, combine the egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla to the heatproof glass bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- You will need to temper the eggs by slowly adding a tiny bit of hot cream to the eggs while whisking. Once that is combined, whisk in a little more. Continue this until about half the cream is incorporated, then slowly whisk in the rest of the cream.
- Fill the cake pan with about an inch of very hot, steamy tap water. Making sure the ramekins are completely dry inside, add them to the water, then CAREFULLY add more hot water until the water comes about halfway up the ramekins, being sure not to get even a drop of water in any of the ramekins.
- Whisk the cream mixture to ensure it's fully combined, then pour it into a large liquid measuring cup if your bowl doesn't have a spout. This makes it easier to fill the ramekins. Pour the custard evenly into each ramekin, then very carefully put the pan in the oven, taking great care not to splash water into the custard.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until the custards are mostly set, but the center is still a little jiggly. Carefully remove from oven, taking care once again not to splash any water into the ramekins, and let them cool about 10-15 minutes in the pan. Once you can comfortably handle the ramekins, remove them from the water and set them on a kitchen towel to finish cooling. Wrap each ramekin in plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours, or up to two days.
- When you are ready to serve, remove plastic wrap and sprinkle a little sugar on the top, swirling the ramekin to make sure the sugar covers the top of the custard. Torch until sugar is lightly caramelized by carefully moving the torch over the top of the custard. Do not hold the torch too close, and be careful to not burn any countertops or table linens. I like to put them on a metal sheet pan (not a nonstick pan) to torch them. See my notes above. Wait about one minute to serve so the sugar cools and creates a crunchy crust to break through. See the post on using the broiler to torch them.
