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. Like crème brûlée, homemade chocolate mousse is also surprisingly approachable in your home kitchen.
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
Will espresso instant coffee work instead of espresso powder? Or is it the same thing?
Hi Betty, yes, that works!
I used the recipe exactly but the amount of cream is too much. It’s pale and hardly yellow in color. Really disappointed I will have to try again with more egg yolks.
Having too much froth/bubbles in the mix will cause them to rise and brown before it’s cooked. Please add a note
I am excited to try the coconut cake and the crème brulle
Hi Aril, I have a question regarding preparing ahead,
Could I add cooked rice to the prepared custard, to make it a Rice pudding crème brûlée?
Thanks
Barbara
Hi Barbara, I can’t see why not!
Hi! I was wondering if I could substitute the heavy cream for something more lactose intolerant friendly.
Hi Ava, you really need full fat heavy cream here.
Hi, I’d really love to make this recipe but I have 4 10 oz shallow oval ramekins (like the ones pictured here but not 4 oz) and I wanted to know how much longer I should bake the crème brûlée or if I don’t need to make any adjustments on the time? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions please ? I am super excited at my first attempt as this is my favorite dessert of all time!
Hi April! We’re unsure of the exact bake time needed for your ramekins. Bake until the edges are set and centers are a little jiggly.
Made it for my mums birthday this year as my celiac Auntie would be attending. It was killer. So smooooooth. Delicious crackling sugar. Will be making again, the addition of instant coffee was genius.
Simple enough to prepare but I was so worried about overcooking that I’m afraid i pulled them out to soon. Can I put them back in the oven after they’ve been sitting on the wire rack for 45 minutes? Or would that mess them up and I should just leave well enough alone? I cooked them for 35 minutes in 2.5 ” ramekins. Thoughts?
Hi Rebecca, we haven’t tried re-baking these, but how were the centers? You’ll want to bake until the edges are set and centers are a little jiggly. For a more accurate sign, they’re done when an instant read thermometer registers 170°F (77°C). Hope you enjoyed them!
Hello, I will be trying this for the first time for a gluten free party. My question is, can this be done in one large ramekin instead of small ones?
Hi Denise! See recipe Notes: 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.
I was thinking it would be really pretty to make this in vintage t floral tea cups. Wondered if they would hold up to the heat though. Whatcha think?
Hi Robin, That is a great idea but it really depends on what your teacups are made of, if they have metallic accents, etc. to determine if they are oven safe.
I love making this recipe Crème brûlée it has been super easy to make fallowing Sally’s recipe for it…I do recommend cooking them for 32 minutes. I read that on someone else’s comments on this site and has worked perfectly from the first time that I’ve made them to the 15th time that I’ve made them. I do have a question if anyone can answer it, can I or would you suggest adding Pure lemon extract?
Hi Holly! That sound delicious but we have not tried making it lemon flavored. You can try substituting part of the vanilla extract for lemon extract. Please let us know what you try!
Sally’s recipes are always clear and detailed! I have a couple of questions tho. . . .I made creme brulee for the very first time for a friend’s bday, as it’s his favorite. My first hurdle is. . . how the heck do you get the brulees out of the bath! My attempts were comical – I soaked the tips of my oven mitt, i nearly tipped the brulees over when trying to use tongs. . .so I ended up using a slotted flat spatula and transferring that way to a cooling rack, but a few of them splashed out of their ramekins during transfer, making a hilarious mess on the floor. What are the tips for this? Second, I accidentally baked them past the 170 degrees, to about 180, and yet while my friend said it was “possibly the best creme brulee he’d ever had,” his wife said “they weren’t set, but it didn’t matter because the flavor was amazing!” I’ve only had creme brulee a couple of times in my life, so I’m not sure the texture it “should” be and this was definitely like a soft pudding – but still tasty. So – 1) what’s the easiest way to get a brulee out of the bath and 2) should I just forego the thermometer and base the cooking time on the inner jiggle, like I used to do with cheesecake? Great recipe!
Hi Trilety, we’re so glad these were a hit! It can be a bit tricky, but we use our oven mitts to remove the ramekins. You can try using a bit less water next time, but it’s okay if your mitts get a bit of water on them. The texture should be like a smooth custard/pudding. You can certainly forgo the thermometer and bake until the edges are set and centers are a little jiggly. Keep in mind that the time depends on the depth of your ramekins. Hope this helps!
This is the best creme brulee! The espresso powder is a must. The recipe is easy to follow. This is always highly requested for me to make at gatherings! I wish it kept longer in the fridge.. Wondering if it’s possible to make it and then freeze it? Thanks!
Hi Erika, I’m so glad to read that you enjoy this! I don’t recommend freezing it unless you have the expectation that the texture will change after freezing and thawing (from all the moisture).
Followed the direction and it turned out perfectly. Thank you. Not sure what that other knucklehead did but he probably blames his dog when he farts.
This would be my first attempt to make creme brûlée, but I know I can trust your recipes blindly. Question, can I use disposable ramekins? I need to make it for a large gathering. How do I adjust the baking time and temp for those?
Hi Mariam, we haven’t tested this recipe in disposable ramekins. Are they the aluminum kind? Baked goods usually bake faster in those, and may bake more unevenly, but we haven’t given it a try ourselves. Let us know if you do!
I cooked these for over an hour, they were still so wobbly so I gave up. I’ve tried this recipe three times and each time they take forever. Too much crème I think.
Same thing happened to me.
A heartfelt thank you!
Have you ever tried using a non dairy whipping cream with this recipe?
Hi Irene, we haven’t personally tested it, but please do let us know if you try it!
My son loves a creme brulee pie! Would your recipe work in a crust baked? Thanks so much
Hi Candy, we haven’t tested anything like that, but it sure does sound delicious! Let us know if you do any experimenting.
Made this for my family. The espresso powder is a great addition. We all agreed this recipe is better than some we have had in our favourite restaurants.
I look forward to making this. I wonder if you could tell me what is the size of a large egg in the US. Can you convert this to weight? I was told recently to weigh the whites if you want a perfect pavlova and it was true. Our eggs in Australia come in lots of sizes. I usually buy extra large but recently bought large and they seemed tiny.
Hi Faye, Egg weights can vary but usually large eggs in the shell are about 57g, and 50g out of the shell.
I did some research on torches and the one that you recommend as well as other similar torches only last a short while and leak butane. I then looked into propane torches sold at hardware stores but these seem like overkill and intimidating – plus very pricy. Isn’t there a kitchen torch that has all really good reviews?
This recipe is SO easy! I always have egg yolks left when making white cake so thought I’d give it a try. Delicious and everyone loved it.
I would love to make this for my family for Valentines Day, but there are only 4 of us. If I were to halve the recipe, how would you suggest I split the 5 large egg yolks measurement? 3 small or medium yolks? 2 extra large? Thank you for any suggestions!
It was my first time ever making creme brulee and this was the best creme brulee my friends and I have ever had!!! I didn’t add the espresso powder and I used french vanilla extract. We were blown away by how good this was!!
Absolutely a great recipe and very doable for a beginner. Thanks for sharing. Loved the finished brûlées.
Can you use the homemade lemon curd in crème brûlée. Would you recommend this ?
Hi Holly, we haven’t tried that, so are unsure what to recommend. If you decide to try it, please let us know how it goes!
Hi Sally, love all your recipes! I have just made this for the third time, the first two were excellent, but this time it looks like the custard split? Like there is cooked eggy mixture and clear fluid. It tastes great but looks strange. The only thing I did differently is add tea powder instead of espresso powder. Any idea what I could have done wrong?
Hi Megan! Crème Brûlée will split if over cooked. Could your oven run hot? Did you use a water bath? Definitely keep an eye on them in the oven – it should be an easy fix for next time 🙂
Perfect!! We make creme brulee for Christmas Eve and this is perfect and easy!
First time making creme brûlée. Turned out perfectly. The key is the instant read thermometer at 170 degrees. My ramekins were 3.5” deep 3.5” wide and they baked for 35 mins. Made the custard 2 days in advance and torched the sugar later. They were perfect. Only thing I did not add was the expresso powder. These instructions made a seemingly intimidating dessert reachable. Now….what will I order when we go out to dinner?
Thanks for sharing. I made these and my family and I love it. I halved the recipe as 8 portions is too much for us.
If I would like to use vanilla beans, how much should I use for the recipe?
Hi Carrie, You can use the seeds scraped from 1/2 a vanilla bean instead. They can be whisked into the heavy cream when you add the salt and espresso powder.