This post was updated on June 28, 2014 to include updated images and a recipe video.
Okay. It's finally here. The moment you have all been waiting for.
Easy Creme Brulee. Hooray!
I am finally posting my creme brulee 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: creme brulee 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 creme brulee is.
Hard decision, right?
Hmmm...anyone else thinking creme brulee 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 creme brulee 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, here. No crazy double boiler action needed. No need for a blow torch. No fuss.
Just sweet custardy goodness with a crunchy caramelized sugar topping. Mmm.
Just mix, pour, bake and broil (or torch, if you happen to prefer that method).
Watch my video to see how easy these little guys are to make:
See? So. Easy.
Easy Crème Brûlée
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar plus more to sprinkle for topping
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- optional: fresh berries or mint for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Whisk together the egg yolks and ½ 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 (I use a spatula) and lay onto clean dish towel to dry, set and cool. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.
- 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, if you'd prefer) for 3-5 minutes, or until the sugar has melted and creates a golden brown, caramelized crust.
- Garnish with berries and/or some fresh mint leaves.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links for the kitchen item(s) I use 🙂
Lis
I am just about to embark on this having managed to track down a chef's torch - as I am used to metric measurements, could you give any advice on cups? I have cup measures, but can you really use the same thing for cream as for sugar? I also have something made in Australia called Vanilla paste which is more like syrup, but seemed more natural than flavouring. I'll have a go and see how I get on :-).
Lacey Baier
Hi Lis. A dry cup and a liquid cup are the same measurement for us. Is recommend using a dry measuring cup for the sugar and a glass measuring cup for the liquid, as they settle differently. I hope that helps. I've never heard of vanilla paste but I hope it turns out for you!
Juliet
I tried this out and it turned out really well, tasted simply great! except I found it too sweet for my taste. Will be reducing the amount of sugar but I totally can imagine myself making this again and again! Thank you so much~
Lacey Baier
Glad you liked it, Juliet. Good luck finding the right sweetness for your tastes 🙂
Cathy in VA
Love your easy recipe! Made it last summer and it became my son's favorite desert. Whipped it up again today for his birthday! Again, can't believe how fast I can make this and the best part is when everyone makes all those great swooning noises while eating it! Thanks from all of us!
Lacey Baier
Yay! I love the swooning noises as well - they're the best! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Laura Ries Dralle
THANK YOU for the amazing, easy dessert recipe! I love creme brûlée but have always hated multi-step recipes (especially when the result, while amazing, looks so simple to the non-cooks devouring them). My kids now want to make this every weekend, and love that they are old enough to play with supervised fire (14 and 13). Great blog - I will be sure to share and check back soon! 🙂
Lacey Baier
That is so awesome! Thanks for sharing, Laura 🙂
Kelli
How big are the dishes?
Lacey Baier
Kelli, they are small, individual-sized ramekins just like these ones.
Lynaea
Lacey, I found this post when I googled "easy creme brulee"...I was writing my own post about my first attempt at creme brulee (which actually was a sweet success), and was trying to remember which recipe I'd used. Your recipe was at the very top of Google's first page! And your pictures & post are so beautiful...I read through your recipe and found it was very similar to the one I'd used, so I cited your article in my post. Thought I'd let you know. My article:
Lacey Baier
Hi Lynaea! Thanks so much for the support and the link. I enjoyed reading your blog post 🙂
Shazia
Wonderful recipe!!!
Lacey Baier
Thanks, Shazia!
Joyce
This was the first attempt Creme Brulee, well that did not come out of a box, bad I know. The recipe was really easy. Everyone loved it and my dear picky friend said it was the best he has had.
Lacey Baier
Wow, that is so awesome. Thanks for sharing!
Vic C.
I used larger ramekins and it is taking nearly 1.5 hours to set in the oven. Glad to hear that cooking it for longer won't change its properties.
Lacey Baier
How much larger ramekins did you use, Vic? I'd love to know how it turned out.
Shelia W
Found your recipe yesterday and made it last night for Valentine dessert. It was fantastic and much, much easier than most of the recipes out there. Creme Brûlée is our favorite dessert - my official taster, my husband of almost 33 years, thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks for a great recipe.
Lacey Baier
You're so welcome. I trust my official taster of almost 16 years as well 😉
Amy C.
Not going to lie...I have the cheesecake/creme brule debate in my head ALL THE TIME!! I think I've made a decision and then eat one or the other and change my mind again. Would LOVE if you could meld the two!
Lacey Baier
Oh my gosh, I'm not alone in this! 🙂 They are just too good and for different reasons. The best part is we don't have to choose!! 🙂
stephanie
This turned out awesome for me. As for those who think it turned out soupy. Cook longer or in a dish not as deep. Mine ended up taking an hour and 20 min in a deep dish but turned out great! Tastes awesome!
Lacey Baier
Thanks so much for sharing this, Stephanie. That's great to know!
Lisa
As a busy mom and owner of http://www.babybeddingshop.com, I am often looking for ways to indulge my sweet tooth--and creme brulee is one of my favorites! I made this 2 or 3 times for guests, and they LOVED it! Unfortunately, my hubby and I both decided to go on diets several months ago (he's on Atkins and I'm just trying to eat more sensibly and cut back on simple sugars). I knew we were going to miss having this lovely creme brulee, so I set us on a mission of being able to still make despite our diets!I loved your recipe because it required no cooking and seemed straight forward and simple. Instead of using real sugar, I substitute Stevia. Since Stevia isn't as sweet as regular sugar, I nearly double the amount of sugar you are using in this recipe. I follow all the rest of the directions, but stop at caramelizing the sugar on top. Sadly, you can't caramelize these substitute sugars, as they simply don't melt. Sigh! What we do instead is a thin layer of sugar-free honey on top to get a similar taste. Voila! It makes for a no-carb dessert for my hubby and it solves my low/no sugar diet concerns. I've now made your recipe in this modified manner about 5 times and it's truly wonderful! In fact, it's in the oven right now for dessert tonight! Thanks for offering up a really simple recipe that is super easy to modify given one's dietary restrictions.
Lacey Baier
Hi Lisa! I'm so impressed that you made this recipe into a healthy recipe for you and your husband to still enjoy. I will keep that in mind in the future if someone is needing a low carb/sugar dessert. Thank you so much for sharing and best of luck with your diet!
Carrie
Very good. To those who thought soupy, maybe you used deeper ramekins? Need to ccok longer?
Lacey Baier
Thanks for the tip, Carrie!
Sarah
this is my go-to creme brulee recipe. I have made it 4 times now and everyone loves it!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Lacey Baier
You're so welcome, Sarah. I LOVE it when my recipes make it to the "go-to" list 😉