Okay.  It’s finally here.  The moment you have all been waiting for.

I am finally posting my crème brûlée recipe.  Wow, that took a while, didn’t it?

As I sit here writing this post, I’m having an internal debate with myself over which dessert I prefer more: crème brûlée or cheesecake?  At first, I would have totally thought cheesecake would beat out crème brûlée. (And, yes, this is totally a legitimate debate to have in one’s head).

But…then I remember just how good crème brûlée is.  Hard decision, right?

Hmmm…anyone else thinking crème brûlée cheesecake?  Yup — that’s how my mind works. Heehee.

Which dessert is your favorite?  Is there a tie between the two? Does it even include either?

Well, this easy crème brûlée recipe is not a hard decision at all.  You won’t even believe how easy it is.

No heating up the custard and slowly tempering the egg yolks.  No crazy double boiler action needed. No fuss.

Just sweet custardy goodness with a crunchy caramelized sugar topping.  Mmm.

Just mix, pour, bake and broil (or torch, if you prefer).

So. Easy.

Easy Crème Brûlée

yields 4 individual ramekins/servings

2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more to sprinkle for topping
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
optional: fresh berries or mint for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Add cream and vanilla and gently stir to combine, taking care not to mix quickly so as not to introduce extra bubbles. Place un-filled ramekins in a baking or casserole dish and fill baking dish with hot water until about half-way up sides of ramekins. Pour egg mixture into ramekins.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, checking every 10 minutes after 35-40 minutes. When done, a knife inserted into the center of the egg mixture should come out mostly clean.

Remove from baking dish and lay onto clean dish towel to dry, set and cool. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Place in refrigerator for 1 hour or longer to cool.

Set oven to low broiler setting.

Sprinkle a thin, even layer of granulated sugar over the top of the cooked custard. Completely, but lightly, cover the custard with the sugar. Place the ramekins back into the baking dish and surround by ice and cold water until the water almost reaches halfway up the sides (don’t fill too high with water, as the ice will melt and add to the volume of water). Place baking dish with ramekins under broiler (or use crème brûlée torch) for 2-5 minutes, or until the sugar has melted and creates a golden brown, caramelized crust.

If you don’t want to wait for the custard to cool in the refrigerator and would prefer to have the custard warm, follow the step above without letting cool. This is pretty tasty as well.

Garnish with sliced strawberries, a few fresh berries and/or some fresh mint leaves.

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