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This creme brûlée is a simple but elegant dessert that will impress all of your guests! You just can’t beat a creamy custard topped with caramelized sugar and delicious fresh fruit!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make: This truly is a simple recipe to make. It only takes about 10 minutes of prep time! It’s easier than you think.
- Beautiful: This creme brûlée makes the perfect dessert for serving to guests. They’ll be wowed by its presentation!
- Flavor: This creamy custard paired with ripe berries is to die for! Similar to the fantastic pairings in my buckeye brownies and my blueberry lemon upside-down cake.
A Reader’s Review
This recipe is the BEST. I have used it several times and it has never failed me! This recipe is crowd-pleaser. With so few ingredients it can be made pretty cheap. I definitely recommend this life changing recipe!
Ingredients You Need to Make Crème Brûlée
You only need FOUR ingredients to make this! Don’t let its presentation scare you. Anyone can make this! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for a list of exact measurements.
- Heavy cream: Gives the custard a creamy richness.
- Egg yolks: Using only egg yolks helps get that creamy texture. If you used whole eggs (including the egg whites), then it would be too firm and set.
- Granulated sugar: Used to make the custard sweet and used to make the caramelized topping.
- Vanilla: Adds a warm, aromatic flavor.
How do you make Creme Brûlée?
If you follow these directions closely, your creme brûlée will turn out perfectly! Your guests will be complimenting you all night long!
- Heat cream: In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium heat until hot but not boiling — small bubbles will appear just along the edge of the pot.
- Whisk: Whisk together egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, and vanilla — I like to do this in a large glass measuring cup for easy pouring!
- Combine: When the cream is hot, add it to the egg yolk mixture a little at a time, whisking well after each addition.
- Pour: Pour into 4 7-8oz ramekins (wider and shallower is better if you have them).
- Add to water bath: Place filled ramekins in a large baking dish and fill the baking dish with hot water so that it comes 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ramekins — be careful not to get any water in the custard!
- Bake: Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-45 minutes, depending on how deep the custard is! (smaller ramekins mean a deeper custard = longer bake time) The top will appear set, but underneath, it will still jiggle.
- Cool and chill: Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours until chilled. (You can wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days).
- Add sugar and torch: Sprinkle each custard with one tablespoon of granulated sugar and torch or broil just until caramelized. Serve immediately or chill to serve later.
How Do I Get a Crisp, Caramelized Topping on Creme Brûlée?
There are two ways to caramelize your sugar on creme brûlée! Here are a few suggestions.
- Broil: You can set the creme brûlée on a baking sheet in the oven and broil for a few minutes.
- Torch: You can use a kitchen torch to torch the sugar for a nice, even brown top! A kitchen torch is generally preferred because it won’t heat the custard as much as the oven, but don’t be afraid to make creme brûlée if you don’t have one!
Make Ahead and Leftover Instructions
- How to Store Leftovers? If you have leftovers from this creme brûlée, then you can totally save it for later! Wrap each ramekin with plastic wrap and place them in your fridge. They will last up to 3 days!
- How Far in Advance Can I Make This? You can bake your creme brûlée, chill completely, then wrap and store for a few hours or up to 3 days before finishing and serving. When you are ready to serve it, add the sugar and torch it right then so it looks and tastes perfectly fresh!
More Amazing Dessert Recipes to Try
If you are feeling confident now that you have conquered creme brûlée, then it’s time to try a few more desserts! I’ve rounded up a few of my very favorites that you and your entire family will love! They are simple enough to make but look impressive enough that your guests will wonder if you are a professional baker! Enjoy!
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Easy Creme Brûlée
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (1/4 if you prefer less sweet)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar for topping
Instructions
- In a small pot, heat cream over medium heat until hot but not boiling — small bubbles will appear just along the edge of the pot.
- Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, and vanilla — I like to do this in a large glass measuring cup for easy pouring!
- When the cream is hot, add it to the egg yolk mixture a little at a time, whisking well after each addition.
- Pour into 4, 7-8 ounce ramekins, (wider and shallower is better if you have them).
- Place filled ramekins in a large baking dish and fill the baking dish with hot water so that it comes 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Be careful not to get any water in the custard!
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-45 minutes. This will depend on how deep the custard is! (Smaller ramekins, deeper custard = longer bake time) The top will appear set but underneath it will still jiggle.
- Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours until chilled. (You can wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days).
- Sprinkle each custard with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and torch or broil just until caramelized. Serve immediately or chill to serve later.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve done this recipe many times without a hitch. Today I did it and did the 2X the amount and looked at the sugar … only added 1/4 cup … but it didn’t take into consideration that I doubled the recipe. For the first time I used regular eggs from the supermarket … I usually buy organic eggs. It’s not the consistency I would like (very eggy — and I very very slowly tempered the eggs) and they look a little odd and not sweet enough at all. So the moral of the story is maybe buy better eggs and look at the amount of sugar for 1X vs 2X and see if it makes sense.
Oh no! I am so sorry!
Alyssa has awesome recipes! I’ve tried 1/2 dozen of them in the last week, and they are all very successful & fully ‘taste-tested’ with my family including the toughest of all critics, (my husband) and he gives them 100/100!
They’ve gotta be good – right?
So, my partner got a torch for their camping grill and I have been obsessing over making creme brulee ever since. The recipe was very easy to follow for the first timers and the dessert turned out fantastic. My partner loved it as is, but I’ll probably strain the yolk and cream mixture to get a smoother texture. Or just use 1 cup milk 1 cup cream. Strongly recommend to give it a try.
First time making this. We followed the recipe to the letter and baked at 325 for 45 minutes (6x 4oz ramekins). After 2 hours in the fridge, it looks somewhat set but when we dig in with a spoon, it is still like soup. Should we cook it longer? Thanks!
Hi Fabienne, the custard should only have a slight wobble when given a gentle nudge, that’s when it’s set enough. Sounds like it might not have baked long enough. Do you have an oven thermometer? You might want to get one to check your oven because 45 minutes in ramekins should be long enough for sure. Unless you used a deeper ramekin. Wider or shallower ramekins are best for creme brûlée, but deeper ones can work as long as the custard is baked longer. I hope this helps.
I made this today and it is absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for this easy delicious recipe! I will definitely be making this again.
can I use Stevia in place of sugar…?
Is there any way I could make this ahead of time for a rehearsal dinner? I’m trying to do a his and her favorite dessert. How long do you think the sugar topping would stay crunchy?
Hi Sarah! Thank you for your question! You could probably make everything ahead of time and then do the caramelized sugar topping the day of the rehearsal dinner. I would do a test run before the event, so you know what to expect. I hope it works out for her to have her favorite dessert!
Made this twice. Turned out digusting the first time so I tried again and it was terrible again. Tastes like straight eggs.
I am so sorry it didn’t turn out. Are you using the whole egg or just the egg yolks?
I made this recipe but unfortunately it didn’t work out so well for me and I’m sure it’s because the measurements were not in the metric system. It’s not the first time it’s happened so I’m basing my feedback on that. Whilst I appreciate that the American method of measurements differ from those in Europe and Britain, perhaps it would be of great help to offer a metric calculus for those of us who live on the other side of the pond. Thank you anyway.
The best creme brulee…To the lady asking the question about the water bath from splashing. Use a dish towel in the bottom of your pan, put your custard cups in the pan on the towel before you add the water. No more splashing…Hope this helps.
I love this recipe and use it all the time! I am a creme brulee lover, and it’s so awesome to be able to make it whenever I want! I do use real vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract, bc I love the flavor and it feels fancy having the dots of vanilla bean throughout the custard. I also use a strainer since I use the real vanilla bean, to keep from getting bits of the hull in my custard. But seriously, this recipe is amazing! If you have any tips or tricks for keeping water from splashing when putting them into and getting them out of the oven, I would appreciate it. The water bath is the bane of my existence but so worth it. Thanks for an amazing, simple, and tasty recipe!
I use this recipe to make my cream brulee I will use this forever… Very delicious, everyone loved it…..
Your recipe looks *slightly* heavy on the egg yolks compared to some recipes, but maybe that makes it better. I’m going to try it in two days for Thanksgiving! Thanks for the recipe.
Well, I tried your recipe and it was great! So easy, too. Thanks!
To begin with, I’ve never had Creme Brulee. It was my wife’s B-day and she loves it when she’s out with her friends. And I’m not “lost” in the kitchen world. So, all of that being said, along with Sous Vide Filet Mignon, I tackled my very first exposure to this non-redneck adventure into fancy dessert foods. I followed THIS recipe to the letter. SUCCESS!! My lovely wife compared my results to her best restaurant experience….with one exception. I used a bit too much sugar on the topping and it crusted too awkwardly, like chewing on a hard candy layer getting stuck in your molar. Next day we finished the remaining two ramekins. PERFECT. This recipe WORKS PERFECTLY and I won’t look for another. It’s a Keeper.
Help…I don’t own ramekins…can I make it and put in one smaller bowl?
Yes you can!
Just made this omg taste like a high-end restaurant I went to and got. So easy also to make thank you
Love your recipes. Thank you for the inspiration