Many beginner bakers are SHOCKED at how easy creme brûlée is! You only need 6 ingredients, and if you follow my success tips, you’ll be gifted with the smoothest, creamiest dessert ever.
One reader, Madison, commented: “Made this recipe for my mother on Mother’s Day, and she LOVED it! Creme brûlée is her all-time favorite and this recipe did more than curb her craving. Saving this recipe for many more occasions to come! It might just be a new dessert staple in this household—it’s incredibly easy to make! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Mary, commented: “My husband keeps inviting people over to our house for dessert so I can make this for them. I asked for a torch for Christmas so I could learn how to make it. This is the second recipe I’ve tried, and it’s a keeper. Tonight will be my 3rd time making this recipe since Valentine’s Day. Save this recipe FOREVER. ★★★★★“
Flecked with espresso and flavored with pure vanilla, this is my favorite crème brûlée recipe. The brilliantly creamy custard can only be reached by cracking through a crisp caramelized sugar ceiling. The textural difference between the two layers is unbelievable and separates this dessert from every other. Simply put, crème brûlée tastes like luxury and has always been a baking bucket list recipe for me, and for good reason.
The GREAT news is that you don’t need to dine at a fancy restaurant for the best crème brûlée experience. Not many realize how easy it is to make at home, especially for occasions like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, anniversaries, etc.
Overview: How to Make Crème Brûlée at Home
The full printable recipe is available below, but let me walk you through the process so you can understand the steps before beginning.
- Start with kitchen staples: heavy cream, sugar, egg yolks, salt, vanilla. I like adding a little espresso powder for added flavor. What a difference it makes! I know many may not have espresso powder at the ready, so it’s an optional ingredient. But trust me when I say that espresso powder makes a good crème brûlée the best crème brûlée. You can find espresso powder in the coffee aisle at the grocery store or online.
- Cook: Heat the heavy cream + salt on the stove. Off heat, add vanilla to flavor. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Temper the egg yolk mixture by slowly whisking in some of the warm heavy cream. Pour into ramekins and bake. Let them cool down, then chill for at least 4 hours or even overnight. (Overnight makes crème brûlée an AWESOME make-ahead dessert, and your guests will be entertained when you whip out that kitchen torch for the topping!)
- Top with: sugar, then caramelize it under the broiler or with a kitchen torch.
That’s it… you’re done. Yes, it really is this easy.
Heavy cream and egg yolks are the key ingredients in crème brûlée. It took a little bit of testing to figure out the best ratio, but I loved 5 egg yolks with 3 cups of heavy cream the most. This produces a VERY creamy and lush crème brûlée. Save the leftover egg whites and add them to omelets and scrambled eggs the next few mornings.
Why are we using just the egg yolks, and not whole eggs? Egg whites help set a firmer pudding texture, but with crème brûlée you want a silky-smooth creamy texture, and the fat in egg yolks provides that. We use this same yolks-only trick for the custard in butterscotch pie and banana cream pie, too.
Crème Brûlée Success Tips
- Temper egg yolks: If you’ve never done it before, tempering egg yolks is nothing to fear—all you’re doing is slowly raising the temperature of the egg yolks so they don’t scramble. Whisk *some* of the warm heavy cream into the egg yolks + sugar, then whisk it all into the pot of warm heavy cream. You can watch me temper the egg yolks in the video tutorial.
- Should I strain it? Straining the custard before cooking it is, in my opinion, optional. If you notice the custard is thick with any lumps, definitely use your sieve to strain it before baking.
- Shallow ramekins: Serve crème brûlée in individual ramekins. The small ramekins ensure the custard cooks evenly, though you could use a large wide ceramic dish instead. See my recipe note below. I love using individual wide, shallow ramekins so there is more surface area for the caramelized sugar! I suggest these oval ramekins or these circle ramekins. (This recipe yields about 8 crème brûlées so you’ll need 2 sets of the oval ramekins OR you can bake the extra custard in other ramekins you may have.)
- Water bath: Place the ramekins in a large baking dish (I used a 9×13-inch baking pan), pour the custard in each, then fill the pan with hot water. The water bath creates a moist and humid environment for the crème brûlée, which is imperative for their texture. (Same story for lemon pudding cakes.) A regular hot oven typically produces rubber-y tasting crème brûlée with cracked surfaces.
- Best bake time: You will likely over-bake the crème brûlée your first time. That’s what my friend told me before I began my crème brûlée adventures. They key, he said, is to look for a jiggly center. The edges will be set, the centers will jiggle like jello. (Anyone ever watch My Best Friend’s Wedding with Julia Roberts? Crème brûlée can never be jell-o. YOU could never be jell-o.) For a more accurate answer, use an instant-read thermometer. They’re done when the thermometer registers 170°F (77°C).
By the way… my friend was right, I over-baked them my first try. The next few tries, pictured in this post, are texture perfection. You want that creamy custard. Learn from my mistake and take those custards out of the oven early.
Burnt Sugar Topping
Crème = cream. Brûlée = burnt. Burnt cream. So as many times as I say “caramelized sugar” it’s really burnt sugar. It’s the CRUNCH on the CREAM and it’s so so tasty!
After the custards bake, cool, and chill, it’s time for that special finishing touch. All we’re doing here is sprinkling the surface with granulated sugar. Some recipes insist on superfine sugar for the topping and some recipes call for coarse sugar. I tested the recipe with both, but ended up just using regular granulated sugar—the same sugar we’ll use in the custard. It produced a thick and sturdy caramelized sugar topping, just the kind we want!
One important note: Cover the entire surface with a thin layer of granulated sugar. No exposed custard. When applied to heat, the cooled custard will curdle.
Kitchen Torch or Oven Broiler?
For caramelizing, you need intense heat. A kitchen torch is magic. Kitchen torches are surprisingly inexpensive and the couple times a year that I need it, I’m glad I have one. It really makes a difference. Other recipes where I use my kitchen torch:
See the recipe Notes (below the recipe) for using the oven broiler instead.
Burnt sugar on creamy custard = simple beauty and decadence. Doesn’t this make you feel fancy? We should be wearing pearls and eating our crème brûlées with crystal spoons while sitting on our gold thrones calling each other on our diamond-encrusted phones talking about how fancy we are.
Bonus: Crème brûlée is always a favorite for those in need of gluten-free dessert recipes!
Print
Easy Crème Brûlée
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 50 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Description
This is the BEST and creamiest crème brûlée recipe! Flecked with espresso and vanilla, you only need 6 simple ingredients and they’re ready to bake in only 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 8 shallow 4-ounce oval ramekins
- 5 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar, divided
- 3 cups (720ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream*
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional but recommended)*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
- Whisk the egg yolks and 1/2 cup (100g) of granulated sugar together. Set aside. (At this point or before you temper the egg yolks in the next step, bring a small kettle or pot of water to a boil. You’ll need hot water to pour into the baking sheet for the water bath.)
- Heat the heavy cream, espresso powder, and salt together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. As soon as it begins to simmer, remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract. Remove about 1/2 cup of warm heavy cream and, in a slow and steady stream, whisk into the egg yolks. Keep those egg yolks moving so they don’t scramble. In a slow and steady stream, pour and whisk the egg yolk mixture into the warm heavy cream.
- Place ramekins in a large baking pan. If you don’t have 1 pan large enough, bake them in a couple pans. Divide custard between each ramekin, filling to the top. Carefully fill the pan with about a 1/2 inch of the hot water. The baking pan will be hot so use an oven mitt to carefully transfer the pan to the oven.
- Bake until the edges are set and centers are a little jiggly. The time depends on the depth of your ramekins. My ramekins are 1-inch and the custard takes 35 minutes. Begin checking them at 30 minutes. For a more accurate sign, they’re done when an instant read thermometer registers 170°F (77°C).
- Remove pan from the oven and, using an oven mitt, remove the ramekins from the pan. Place on a wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour. Place in the refrigerator, loosely covered, and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days before topping.
- Using the remaining granulated sugar, sprinkle a thin layer all over the surface of the chilled custards. Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch and serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour before serving. (Caramelized topping is best enjoyed right away.)
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare the custard mixture through step 4. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 1 day before baking. You can bake the custard up to 2 days ahead of time. See step 6.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Medium Saucepan | Oval Ramekins | Large Baking Pan (such as a 9×13-inch baking pan) | Cooling Rack | Kitchen Torch
- Heavy Cream: 3 cups of half-and-half may be substituted for heavy cream. The custard’s texture will be a little lighter.
- Espresso Powder: I know many may not have espresso powder at the ready, so it’s an optional ingredient. But trust me when I say that espresso powder makes a good crème brûlée the best crème brûlée. Leaves great flavor, but the custard doesn’t necessarily taste like coffee. Rather, it’s hinted with espresso flavor. You can find espresso powder in the coffee aisle at the grocery store or online. Instead of espresso powder, you can use 2 teaspoons quality instant coffee.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract is stirred into the heavy cream after it’s heated. You can use the seeds scraped from 1/2 a vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste instead. Either can be whisked into the heavy cream when you add the salt and espresso powder.
- Ramekins: Small ramekins ensure the custard cooks evenly, though you could use a large wide ceramic dish instead. I love using individual wide and shallow ramekins so there is more surface area for the caramelized sugar. I suggest these oval ramekins or these circle ramekins. If you don’t have ramekins, use a large wide ceramic or glass dish. Do not use metal. The bake time will increase with a larger size pan.
- Oven Broiler Directions: If you don’t have a kitchen torch, use the oven broiler to caramelize the sugar in step 7. After the custard has chilled as directed in step 6, dust the tops with reserved granulated sugar, then place them on a baking sheet on an oven rack directly under the broiler. Broil on high until caramelized. Keep a close eye on it.
- Adapted from Allrecipes and Mark Bittman
Reader Comments and Reviews
Sally says not to use metal, but I have 20 people coming. I bought some small metal aluminum ones that were marketed for creme brulee – what would the cooking time be and will it be a disaster, even if i am careful and watch it closely?
Hi Gina, we strongly advise against using metal pans. They will head much faster and can cause the custard to overcook quickly. It’s best to use ceramic or glass ramekins, or you can use a larger dish if you don’t have enough ramekins.
Hi, just wanted to ask if instant espresso powder, like DeLallo, is the same thing as the espresso powder you use. Thank you.
Hi Dorci, correct! We use the DeLallo brand often.
Awesome, thank you so much! I make creme brulee for Christmas dessert every year and I’m so excited to try this recipe!
Honestly, people don’t follow the directions, try to bake the recipe in the wrong size vessel, and give a 1 star because, “it didn’t set” just crack me up.
You can’t freelance baking. It’s science, people! Ratios matter, depth of dish, matters!
Also, good quality instant coffee is not Maxwell House or Folgers. I’m sure that would be disgusting, it would be just bad coffee amplified. Pilon or Mount Hagen instant are good instant, if you do not have espresso powder.
Recipe was perfect, thanks Sally!
Im absolutely dumfounded by the bad reviews from people who did NOT follow instructions! A 13 x 9 baking dish? Really?? Crazy!! This is my favorite creme brulee recipe! Btw Wholefoods sells 365 instant espresso that is fabulous and affordable not sure who makes it for them?? Very smooth
Made my 1st creme brulee with this easy to follow recipe using 4 oz ramekins in hot bath. They tempted at 184 when I took them out of the oven. They were more of a pudding consistency than custard but were still delicious. Any suggestions on how to get a little thicker consistency?
Hi Jill! Did you make any changes (even small!) to the recipe? The egg yolks and heavy cream are key to these setting up properly. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Hi Trina, I omitted the espresso, no other changes
Just wondering if you used a ramekin that was more narrow and tall rather than wide and short like the ones she links to under the “success tips.” I did that once and the creme brulee didn’t set up as well.
This a solid crème brûlée recipe with a few twists that I think make it even more interesting. The tiny bit of espresso is subtle, but noticeable. It looks more like you scraped a vanilla bean pod than added coffee to your dessert. I used decaffeinated espresso to avoid the panicked look of those who avoid caffeine after 12 noon. I have never added salt to my crème brûlée before, but this definitely gives it an added dimension.
For my shallow ramekins, and in my opinion, this recipe is more suitable for six servings than eight. But maybe I just want more crème for myself!
WOW! This was incredibly easy and so delicious! I had never made it before, it always seemed so intimidating to me, but you made it super easy. Your instructions were spot-on and your tips were super helpful. I didn’t change a thing and my family loved it! Thank you for the great recipe!!
This was the best Creme Brulee I’ve ever had! My family loved it even more than the other recipe I usually use. It was very sweet, though, so next time I might cut down on the sugar. Thankyou for yet another amazing recipe!
I made this recipe yesterday. I deleted the espresso powder because I don’t like coffee. I tried it today. It is delicious. Would definitely make again.
Hi!, I made this and the 2 tsps of instant coffee substitute is too much. the whole batch tastes like a very creamy coffee. Just my 2 cents. I will order espresso powder and try that instead (i do love the idea of a hint of espresso)
Cook timing was perfect and portions good size for my family!
Hi Megan. It’s only 1/2 tsp of espresso powder, not 2 tsp of instant coffee.
I made this recipe this afternoon and I was so disappointed! I tripled the ingredients and only got 2 large ramekims and half of a small one. Took almost an hour for the creme to thicken. I was not impressed with this recipe. I have no idea what I did wrong! Thought I followed the recipe to the letter! I’ve made Creme Brulee before and was not impressed this time!
How big are your ramekins?
I have made creme brule a lot in the past and this recipe did not set at all. I baked for 40 minutes. It was runny even after 24 hours. The topped browned too quickly and I waited to pull them until I saw a slight jiggle in the middle. I would not recommend this recipe.
If you take this mixture and don’t bake it. Get you some Texas toast or sour dough bread( you need a dense bread) and dip the bread into this mixture. Cook on a flat top grill or griddle you will have a crème brûlée French toast that is to die for. Take some powder sugar with a little powder espresso, put into a sifter and coat the top of your French toast while it’s still warm with a little whipped topping it’s simply amazing. Thank me later. I use to make this at my job and it was a hit. You will never eat regular French toast again. You can even top with fruit and whipped topping.
I baked in a 13×9 in pan. I used 6 egg yolks. I baked for 30 min, the middle barely jiggled. when I served it a day later, it was like creamy soup. Not at all like Creme Brulee. Super liquidy. Taste was good but texture was terrible. what did I do wrong?
Hi Elsie, I’m sorry to hear that! Did you bake the creme brulee in ramekins that were then set in a 9×13 pan with water in it, or did you pour the custard directly into the 9×13 pan?
I poured it directly in the 31×9 inch pan. Then I placed it in a even bigger pan with hot water.
Yes, that would account for the issues. This recipe is developed to be baked in small ramekins, not one large pan.
Is there a video for your creme brulee recipe? I see many ads but cannot find it.
Hi Sue, yes! You can find the video tutorial in the recipe card after the instructions.
I am also not seeing a link to a video anywhere on this page and I clicked on a lot of links. You should add the link to the word video for sure.
Is the link to the circle ramekins working? I keep getting an error message.
Hi Susan, the links seem to be working on our end. It should take you to a set from Williams-Sonoma. Can you try this link? https://rstyle.me/n/c7fjnzb7kf7
Hi Sally. I really want to try this recipe but was wondering if I could cut it in half to make 4?
Nice! But forget about those stupid kitchen torches. A propane torch from the hardware store is far far superior: cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate, more powerful (useful if you need to do a few ramekins), more versatile (use it for touching up the sear on sous-vide meats or mozzarella or repairing the plumbing), more reliable, less frustrating, longer-lived, and just plain more fun to hand to guests and say “you can torch your own sugar” 🙂
I totally agree with that! I also brûlée my Thanksgiving bird just before service. It gives the skin that Norman Rockwell perfect turkey for presentation.
Hello! I’d like to make a creme brulee topped cheesecake using this recipe and your plain cheesecake recipe. Are there any modifications to either recipe you can suggest off the top of your head? TIA!
Hi Lupe, we’ve never tested a creme brulee topped cheesecake, but would love to hear what you try!
I liked how straightforward the recipe was and the directions were clear. However, the total time listed it would take was incorrect so I’m frustrated that I didn’t start this process early enough for the event I intended them for. The total time lists 4 hours and 50 minutes, but you have to prep them (15 minutes), cook them (35 minutes), let them cool (1 hour), chill them (4 hours).
Hello! Does the espresso powder make it taste like coffee? My husband doesn’t like coffee at all but I’m making this for him on Father’s Day!
Hi Autumn! It’s a very faint flavor. We’ve had taste testers who don’t like coffee and didn’t really notice or mind it. Feel free to skip it or leave it in.
My first time ever attempting this and they turned out perfect! Thanks so much!