This crème brûlée recipe is a classic dessert made with a silky smooth vanilla custard and a crisp caramelized sugar topping. It’s rich yet delicate, simple to prepare, and perfect for an elegant make-ahead dessert.
Why You’ll Love This Crème Brûlée Recipe
This crème brûlée recipe is one of those desserts that feels fancy but is honestly super easy to make at home! The custard is silky smooth, the caramelised top is perfectly crackly, and it’s basically guaranteed to impress anyone you serve it to.
Smooth and Creamy
The custard sets beautifully, giving you that dreamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture every time.
Not Too Sweet
It’s rich and indulgent, but not overly sugary. The caramelised top adds the perfect crunchy contrast without making it too sweet.
Simple Ingredients, Big Result
This recipe uses basic ingredients, but the final result looks and tastes like something from a fancy restaurant.
Perfect for Impressing
Whether you’re making it for a dinner party or just treating yourself, this dessert always feels like a little celebration.
Tips for Perfect Crème Brûlée
If you want that silky creamy custard and perfectly crackly top every time, these simple tips along with my foolproof crème brûlée recipe will help you get it right even if it’s your first time making it!
Heat the cream gently
Keep it steaming, not boiling, to avoid curdling the eggs. You also don’t want burnt cream!
Temper slowly
Add the hot cream little by little while whisking gently to prevent scrambling.
Don’t over-whisk
Too much whisking adds air, which can make the custard bubbly.
Strain for smoothness
A quick sieve gives you a silky, flawless texture.
Use a water bath
This keeps the custard cooking evenly and prevents cracking.
Bake until slightly wobbly
The edges should be set while the centre still jiggles a bit. This will give you that perfect texture once it’s set and ready to eat!
Chill well before torching
Fully chilled custards torch best and give the crispiest top.
Torch just before serving
Caramelise the sugar at the last minute for the best crack and crunch.
How to Make Crème Brûlée
You can find the full list of ingredients for this crème brûlée recipe in the recipe card at the end of the blog post (for easy navigation, hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post). Here is a quick visual breakdown of the recipe (recipe video is also provided in the recipe card below).
Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) conventional. Place four 3.5-inch (6 oz) ramekins into a deep baking pan and set aside.
Place a saucepan on the stove over medium heat and add the heavy whipping cream, salt, and vanilla. If using a vanilla pod, split it, scrape out the seeds, and add both the seeds and pod to the cream. Heat the cream until it is just steaming, not boiling, then remove from the heat and discard the vanilla pod if used.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar for about 1 minute until pale and slightly thickened. This forms the base of the crème brûlée custard (this recipe doesn’t have any egg whites. Check out my white cake recipe, angel cake or macarons for how to use up any leftover egg whites).
Slowly pour the warm cream into the egg mixture a little at a time, whisking gently and constantly to temper the eggs and prevent curdling. Avoid over-whisking to keep the custard smooth and free of air bubbles.
Strain the crème brûlée mixture through a sieve into a jug to remove any bubbles or cooked egg, ensuring a silky-smooth custard texture. Skim off any excess foam that remains on the top. Pour evenly between the individual ramekins.
Place the baking dish into the middle rack of the oven, then carefully pour hot water into the dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This water bath allows the crème brûlée to bake gently and evenly.
Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until the crème brûlées are set around the edges with a slight wobble in the centre. If using shallower ramekins, begin checking at 30 minutes.
Carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath and allow them to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Once cooled, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight, until fully chilled and set.
Just before serving, sprinkle 1 to 1½ tsp(s) of white granulated sugar evenly over the top of each crème brûlée. Use a kitchen torch to caramelise the sugar until golden and crisp. Allow the sugar topping to set, then serve immediately.
How to Store This Crème Brûlée Recipe
Once the crème brûlée is fully chilled, cover each ramekin with cling wrap and store them in the fridge. They will keep well for a few days.
If you want to prepare ahead, you can make the custards a day or two in advance, then torch the sugar right before serving so the topping stays crisp.
Easy Crème Brûlée Recipe
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (600 g) heavy cream
- 6 egg yolks - room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
- 2 tsps vanilla extract/essence - or 1 vanilla pod
- ⅛ tsp salt
For the Caramelized Top
- 6 tsps white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) conventional. Place four 3.5-inch (6 oz) ramekins into a deep baking dish and set aside (see note 1 if using a convection oven with a fan).
- Place a saucepan over medium heat and add the cream, salt, and vanilla. If using a vanilla pod, split it, scrape out the seeds, and add both the seeds and pod to the cream. Heat the cream until it is just steaming, not boiling, then remove from the heat and discard the vanilla pod if used.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar for about 1 minute until pale and slightly thickened. This forms the base of the crème brûlée custard.
- Slowly pour the warm cream into the egg mixture a little at a time, whisking gently and constantly to temper the eggs and prevent curdling. Avoid over-whisking to keep the custard smooth and free of air bubbles.
- Strain the crème brûlée mixture through a sieve into a jug to remove any bubbles or cooked egg, ensuring a silky-smooth custard texture. Skim off any excess foam that remains on the top. Pour evenly between the prepared ramekins.
- Place the baking dish into the oven, then carefully pour hot water into the dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This water bath allows the crème brûlée to bake gently and evenly.
- Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until the crème brûlées are set around the edges with a slight wobble in the centre. If using shallower ramekins, begin checking at 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath and allow them to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Once cooled, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight, until fully chilled and set.
- Just before serving, sprinkle 1 to 1½ tsp(s) of white granulated sugar evenly over the top of each crème brûlée. Use a kitchen torch to caramelise the sugar until golden and crisp. Allow the sugar topping to set, then serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
