You'll Never Want Another Crème Brûlée Recipe After Trying This...
What comes to mind when you hear the words Crème Brûlée? See if my description matches any part of yours: pure creaminess with just the right amount of crunch from the sugary crust on top. Mmm. Delightful!
Crème Brûlée is a satisfying dessert because it fills all the essential “perfect” dessert requirements such as taste, texture, just the right amount in a serving and the flexibility to garnish it with fruit, a sprig of mint, a thin wafer or a triangle of chocolate.
If you’re wondering how your favorite special-occasion restaurant makes their Crème Brûlée, look no further. We have just the recipe for you!
Check out the Celiac Kitchen YouTube channel so you can see our top Crème Brûlée maker in action and gain inspiration for many other gluten-free recipes. And just between us… no one but those making the recipe will ever know that our food is gluten-free. It may not have gluten, but it has ALL the taste and texture you’ll ever want!
The Perfect Crème Brûlée
Simple Ingredients
Heavy cream, eggs and a few other simple ingredients come together to make a smooth and creamy dessert. Add a thin layer of caramelized sugar for a sweet, crunchy topping. An elegant finish to any special occasion meal.
What you’ll need for two servings:
2 cups heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
75 grams or roughly 1/3 cup of sugar granulated cane sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla paste + just a bit add to sauce pan with heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
boiling water
preheated oven to 210
cold fridge
lots of time
(1) pour 2 cups heavy cream into a saucepan. Add just a bit of vanilla paste and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Bring to a very gentle simmer over low heat. Stir constantly so it doesn’t scorch. Under heating is better than overheating, you’re just trying to get the vanilla and cream smooth and mixed together. Look for steam and small frothy bubbles along edge of pan. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.
(2) mix vanilla paste (½ teaspoon) with 75 grams of sugar. In food processor, lightly process just long enough to get it smooth; don’t over process.
(3) separate 6 egg yolks.* Add your processed sugar and vanilla paste and GENTLY mix together. You do NOT want to beat or whisk your eggs. GENTLY mix.
(4) once cream mixture has reached room temperature (about 10-15 minutes) SLOWLY temper it in with eggs/sugar mix. Room temperature cream and slow pouring is key to NOT cooking your eggs. You want this to be smooth and creamy, not yellow and scrambled eggs. Stir gently then pour into individual ramekins. Strain as you pour for extra smooth texture.
(5) place ramekins in ovenproof pan. Add hot (not boiling, but hot) water into the pan to create bon marie. Add hot water until ramekins are just over half way submerged (you do NOT want to get water in ramekins at ANY time).
(6) place in 210° degree oven until crème reaches 175°F.** This generally takes 45 – 60 minutes but can take up to 3 hours. You will see slight jiggling in the center when ramekins come out of the oven.
(7) remove from oven and let cool on a rack for one hour or until room temp (room temp is goal; takes about 1 hour).
(8) place ramekins inside cold fridge. Helpful hint: find the coldest spot in your refrigerator - typically a bottom shelf near the back - so crème properly sets (do not place in freezer, just a cold part of the fridge) for a minimum of 3 hours but preferably overnight.
(9) sprinkle top of crème with sugar of choice (from experience… brown is best, turbinado also works well) then torch just enough to caramelize the sugars a bit. Don’t get too close with torch. Other ways to caramelize sugar include broiling 3 to 5 seconds or you can flambé with a liquor.
(10) let sit in the fridge for 5 minutes
*Use egg whites in egg white omelet, angel food cake, macaroons, meringues and more!
**USDA recommends internal temperature of at least 160°F or 71.1°C for eggs.
The Finished Product
The inside of your Crème Brûlée will be smooth with a creamy yellow color. As tempting as it may be to take a big spoonful before the Crème Brûlée is thoroughly chilled, you will be glad you waited. From experience, I can assure you that it’s worth the wait!