The vanilla guide
Vanilla crème brûlée
Five ingredients, a water bath and a kitchen torch. Most of the work is waiting while it chills.
Crème brûlée is a baked custard of cream, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla, chilled and topped with a thin layer of sugar burnt to a glassy crust. Bake the custards in a water bath at 150 °C (300 °F) for 30 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set but the centres still wobble. Chill them for at least 4 hours, then sprinkle with sugar and caramelise it with a kitchen torch just before serving.
On this page
What crème brûlée is
“Crème brûlée” is French for burnt cream. The custard is almost the same as the base of vanilla ice cream: cream, yolks, sugar and a vanilla bean, cooked slowly so it sets without curdling. The contrast is the point: cold, soft custard under a warm, brittle top.
Vanilla is the classic flavour, and few desserts show a bean off better. The seeds hang in the custard as tiny black specks.
How to make crème brûlée
Vanilla crème brûlée
You need
- 500 ml (2 cups) heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean
- 5 egg yolks
- 70 g (⅓ cup) sugar, plus about 50 g (4 tablespoons) for the tops
- A pinch of salt
- Boiling water, for the water bath
Nutrition (estimate): 405 calories, 34 g fat (21 g saturated), 22 g sugar and 5 g protein per 1 ramekin (about 120 ml). The recipe makes about 6 servings.
Method
Infuse the cream
Heat the oven to 150 °C (300 °F). Split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the cream, add the pod and the salt, and warm until steaming. Cover and leave for 15 minutes.
Mix the yolks and sugar
Whisk the yolks with 70 g of sugar just until combined. Do not whisk in air: bubbles end up on top of the custard.
Combine and strain
Remove the pod and pour the warm cream slowly onto the yolks, stirring. Strain through a sieve into a jug.
Bake in a water bath
Set six ramekins in a deep baking tin, fill them with the custard, and pour boiling water into the tin to halfway up their sides. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set and the centres wobble like jelly when you nudge the tin.
Chill
Lift the ramekins out of the water, let them cool, then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Burn the sugar
Just before serving, sprinkle each custard with about 2 teaspoons of sugar in a thin, even layer and melt it with a kitchen torch until deep amber. Wait a minute for it to harden.
No kitchen torch?
Use the grill (broiler) at its hottest. Put the sugared custards on the top shelf and watch them: the sugar melts and colours in 2 to 5 minutes, and burns in seconds. Chill them for another 20 minutes afterwards, because the grill warms the custard.
Tips
- If you have a thermometer, the custard is done at about 80 °C (175 °F) in the centre.
- Overbaked custard turns grainy or watery. Take it out while the centre still wobbles; it sets as it cools.
- Burn the sugar at the last minute. In the fridge the crust softens within an hour.
- Use the leftover egg whites for meringues or a pavlova.
Questions
Can I make crème brûlée the day before?
Yes. Bake and chill the custards up to two days ahead, covered. Only burn the sugar just before serving.
Why is my crème brûlée runny?
It came out of the oven too early, or did not chill long enough. Bake until the edges are set and only the centre wobbles, then chill for at least 4 hours.
What is the difference between crème brûlée and flan?
Crème brûlée is made with cream and yolks and topped with a hard sugar crust burnt at the end. Flan, or crème caramel, uses milk and whole eggs, is baked over a layer of liquid caramel and turned out of its dish.
Episode 1 is being drawn
Join the expedition
Get the first episode when it is out, Vanillin’s diary from the farm once a month, and first pick of the first jar of vanilla sugar.
One letter a month. Leave whenever you like. We first send you an email with a link, and you join only when you click it to confirm. See our privacy notice.