Description
Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée is a rich, creamy French classic that’s surprisingly easy to make at home. With a smooth custard base infused with real vanilla bean and a crisp caramelized sugar topping, it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert for holidays, dinner parties, or date nights
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
½ cup sugar (115 g)
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
12 teaspoons granulated sugar for topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
In a saucepan, combine heavy cream, milk, and sugar. Split the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds, and add both seeds and pod to the cream.
Heat over medium, whisking often until sugar dissolves and the mixture steams (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and cool for 2 minutes.
Whisk egg yolks in a measuring cup until smooth.
Slowly pour a bit of the cream into the yolks, whisking constantly to temper. Gradually whisk in the rest of the cream.
Add salt and whisk. Skim foam if desired.
Place 6 4-oz ramekins in a 9×13” baking dish. Pour custard evenly into ramekins.
Carefully add hot water to the baking dish until it reaches ¾ up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake for 30–35 minutes, until custards are just set but slightly jiggly in the center.
Remove and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.
Just before serving, sprinkle 2 tsp sugar on each custard and caramelize with a blowtorch until golden brown.
Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 hour before serving.
Notes
Use a kitchen torch for best results; broilers can work in a pinch. For deeper flavor, let the cream and vanilla steep for 15 minutes off-heat before mixing. You can substitute vanilla paste or high-quality extract if vanilla bean isn’t available.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ramekin (4 oz)
- Calories: 330
- Sugar: 24g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 15g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 210mg