Crème brûlée, which literally means burnt cream, is a dessert of custard–topped with caramelized sugar. My first time ever ordering this dessert was about 15 years. It was at a bistro in le quartier de la Bastille and ever since then, Oui, Oui — you guessed it, crème brûlée is usually my first choice when ordering dessert in a resto. I mean , pourquoi pas? This creamy custard leaves me craving for more.

Thanks to Mon Petit Four’s, Beeta Hashempour, you too can recreate this decadent recette for yourself or guests. Bon app!

Crème Brûlée

Yield: 5 Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Creamy vanilla custard baked until set, then topped with a caramelized sugar topping. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 6 tbsp granulated sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• turbinado sugar, or any kind of coarse sugar granules, for the top

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 320°F. Bring a kettle full of water to a boil. Meanwhile, In a medium saucepan, warm the cream just until it’s beginning to simmer along the edges of the pan. Don’t let the cream boil! Stir in the vanilla bean paste once the cream is warm. Turn the heat off.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the granulated sugar together until thick and pale. Stream in 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture, whisking vigorously as you do. Continue to stream in another 1/4 cup, again whisking the entire time. Pour in the rest of the hot cream and whisk until everything is blended together.
3. Use a ladle to distribute the batter among 5 (6 oz.) ramekins. Place the ramekins in a large casserole dish and place the dish in the oven. Use the kettle spout to pour the hot water into the casserole dish, pouring enough water so that the water almost reaches the top of the ramekins. Be careful not to get any water into the ramekins.
4. Bake the custard for 1 hour just until the centers are slightly wobbly. If needed, after 1 hour, raise the heat to 350°F and bake for another 10 minutes until you’ve achieved the desired doneness. Remove the ramekins from the casserole dish and let them cool to room temperature. Wrap the ramekins tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.
5. To brulee, sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the turbinado sugar over each frozen creme brulee. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet under the oven broiler (500°F) for about 1 minute, constantly checking it and rotating the pan so that all of them are evenly bruleed. Let the burnt sugar topping set for a few minutes before serving. 

Notes

If you decide to make this recipe for 2 people, divide the recipe in half and use 8 oz. ramekins.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 5

Serving Size:

5 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 423

And if it so happens that you need help pronouncing crème brûlée, we’ve got you covered!