Easy Crème Brûlée

Crème brûl��e is one of those desserts you think can only be eaten at a fancy restaurant or when you're enjoying a catered dinner at a special event. But that's simply not true. With just five ingredients, it's easy enough to make this French dessert at home—yes, even with the broiled sugar topping. We'll explain.

Crème brûlée is a rich, decadent custard. It's a combination of egg yolks and heavy cream with sugar and vanilla bean. The mixture is baked until just set around the edges (with a slight jiggle in the middle), and while it cools, it turns into a luscious custard. It's finished off with a sprinkle of sugar that's torched or broiled to form a caramelized crust that shatters with the first bite.

Learn how to make crème brûlée, and impress all your guests, whether you serve this at a Mother's Day lunch, Easter brunch, or Christmas dinner. It's always a winner.

What Is Crème Brûlée?

Crème brûlée is a French dessert that's made with a rich custard and a caramelized sugar crust. You break the crust as you take a spoonful of the cream, and the textural contrast is otherworldly. It's precisely what makes this dessert so special—and why everyone think it's just too fancy to make at home. (They're wrong; you totally can make this at home.)

Ingredients for Easy Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée calls for just five ingredients. It really is that simple.

• Heavy cream: This is the base of the custard, the rich dairy that sets this into a spoonable dessert.
• Vanilla bean: This provides the warm and toasty notes of natural vanilla. If you don't have a bean, vanilla paste will work, too. Vanilla extract can also work, but you may need a bit more as the flavor isn't as strong. As a bonus, both vanilla bean and the paste give the crème brûlée a bean-flecked appearance.
• Egg yolks: Necessary for the custard and a key component in the rich mouthfeel for the final dish. Save the whites for a cake or meringue.
• Granulated sugar: For sweetening the custard and for making the sugar crust. In place of granulated sugar for the crust, however, you can use Turbinado sugar.
• Salt: Just a bit of salt will balance and enhance all the sweet flavors of the crème brûlée.

How To Make Easy Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée requires some hands-on time with all the whisking and pouring, but the majority of the time, the dish is baking, cooling, or chilling. Here's a brief outline of the process; a full step-by-step recipe is further below:

• Step 1. Make the custard by heating the milk and vanilla bean seeds just to boiling, and separately, mix the egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Then slowly mix the hot cream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Strain the custard mixture into another bowl, and discard any solids.
• Step 2. Pour the custard into individual ramekins, and set them in a cake pan or roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the pan until the water is about half way up the sides of the ramekins. (This is called a water bath. It helps to insulate the custards so they don't overbake.)
• Step 3. Bake the crème brûlées for 45 to 50 minutes or until the custard is set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the center. Pull the pan from the oven, and let the crème brûlées sit at room temperature until the ramekins are cool enough to touch.
• Step 4. Refrigerate the desserts until cold, which is generally at least 3 hours.
• Step 5. Before serving, add sugar to the top of each custard, and use a kitchen torch or your oven's broiler setting to gently toast the sugar. Let the desserts stand for a few minutes before serving.

Tips for the Best Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée has a reputation for being a bit finicky—and that's partly true. A kitchen torch is involved, after all. There are certainly steps along the way that can make this recipe go awry. But with a foolproof recipe and these great tips, yours will turn out as good as any restaurant's.

• Add hot cream slowly: Don't be tempted to pour the egg yolks into the hot cream, or to pour all the hot cream into the egg yolks at once. You'll end up with scrambled eggs. Instead, use a ladle to spoon the warm cream bit by bit into the egg yolks, whisking as you go to prevent scrambling.
• Strain away: Just in case you do end up with some lumps, go ahead and strain the crème brûlée mixture before it goes into the ramekins. This step just ensures a perfectly smooth, perfectly creamy dessert.
• Watch for signs: It will be very easy to overcook your crème brûlée. In fact, we expect you will the first time or two you make this dessert. But if you watch the custards closely, you'll see the signs that it's time to remove them from the oven: The edges will be set but the center will still jiggle just a bit when the pan moves. It shouldn't be so liquid that it sloshes, but look for that telltale Jell-O jiggle.
• Tap the top: Wonder if your crust is fully caramelized? You'll know it's done when you can tap the sugar with the back of a spoon, and it'll return a good thud. If you don't hear a knock, the sugar needs more time under the torch.

Must You Use a Kitchen Torch?

No, you do not need a kitchen torch to make crème brûlée. But we will be honest that it is the best way to caramelize the sugar crust. A torch will heat the sugar quickly and efficiently without heating too much of the custard.

You can broil the sugar in the oven, too, but the custard may heat up more than you want. Only use this option if you don't have a torch, and if you do broil, just give the desserts about 15 minutes to cool back down before serving.

Can You Make Crème Brûlée Ahead?

Absolutely, you can make crème brûlée ahead of your dinner. In fact, you should. Restaurants will make and keep the custard base of this dessert up to 3 days. Just be sure to wrap each ramekin or the entire tray of ramekins with storage wrap really well. Then, when you're ready to serve them, add the sugar crust, and serve.

What Does Crème Brûlée Taste Like?

Crème brûlée offers up the warm, floral flavors of a fresh vanilla bean. It's set off by the caramelized flavors of sugar, but don't think this dessert will be overly sweet. The crust provides a bittersweet note to help balance the whole dish thanks to the nearly-burnt sugar.

Some crème brûlée recipes call for additional ingredients, such as espresso and bourbon. Those versions are also wonderful, but this classic recipe doesn't need all that to be excellent.