This viral creme brulee recipe only requires 3 ingredients – but is it any good? (2024)

FAQs

What is the top of crème brûlée made of? ›

Crème brûlée is an easy dessert served in individual ramekins with a rich custard base made out of eggs, sugar, heavy cream and vanilla. The topping is made out of a thin layer of granulated sugar which is caramelized with a torch to create textually contrasting hard candy-like shell.

A big part of what makes a crème brûlée so downright delicious is the ingredients it calls for. While there are only a handful, they come together to create harmony in a ramekin. The crème brûlée base is typically made with heavy cream, which gives it an over-the-top, decadent, and rich flavor.

For the caramelized sugar crust, we recommend turbinado or Demerara sugar. Regular granulated sugar will work, too, but use only 1 scant teaspoon on each ramekin or 1 teaspoon on each shallow fluted dish.

Using too few egg yolks can result in a runny creme brulee [2]. As a general rule, use 3 egg yolks per cup of liquid. If you used half and half instead of cream, you may need to adjust the number of egg yolks accordingly [3].

Bake in a water bath

This is a key step to making perfect crème brûlée – baking your custards in a water bath. A water bath is a pan of water that the ramekins are placed in to bake. A water bath provides some insulation from direct heat which allows the custards to cook gently, evenly, and prevents cracking.

Creme brulee tastes like a richer, creamier, silkier version of your favorite vanilla custard or pudding. However, the burnt sugar topping adds texture, crunch, and flavor. The burnt sugar topping tastes like bitter caramel hard candy.

It's a crucial step in creating the signature crunchy caramelized top that contrasts beautifully with the creamy custard beneath a delightful balance of textures and flavors. If you intend to savor your crème brûlée within the next three days, proper storage is key.

The traditional method of cooking creme brulee is to bake it in a low-temperature oven in a water bath for even heating (see our post, Thermal Secrets for Crème Brûlée). Even with this gentle method, it's still possible to over bake the custards, resulting in curdled texture.

Heavy cream is the usual ingredient for creme brûlée, but full fat half-and-half is a touch lighter (half milk, half cream) and will also yield a silky creme brulee.

Why is my creme brulee oily? ›

It's not oil, it's not whey, it's the butter fat from the cream which has separated. This happened to me, while delicious on toast, not exactly what you'd like to have on top of your creme brulee. It helps to cook on a gentler heat; lower oven temp and in a water bath.

If there's too much sugar, the crust will start to burn before it melts evenly. Too little, and it will just melt into the custard. Brûléeing the sugar in two steps leads to a more uniform melting of the sugar granules and a nice even caramel color.

A perfect crème brûlée is served warm at the top of the custard (nearest the torching) and cold at the bottom. You can eat crème brûlée the day you make them; however, be sure to chill the custards for at least three hours before caramelizing the sugar.

The crunchy topping on top of the Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte is really just caramelized sugar AKA caramel brulée topping or caramel brulée crumbles. Starbucks uses both sugar and corn syrup to make theirs, but I find that you can get the job done with just sugar and water.

Before You Fire up the Torch

Once you've got the crème part down, it's time for the brûlée—which means "burnt" in French. You'll be using a butane culinary torch.