Creamy Vanilla Crème Brûlée
This vanilla crème brûlée is smooth and creamy with a crisp caramel top. A classic French custard dessert made with real vanilla bean.
Ingredients
Crème Brûlée
- 250 g full cream milk
- 250 g evaporated milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 vanilla bean see notes
- 4 egg yolks from large eggs that weigh 50-55g each
- 105 g caster sugar + extra to sprinkle
Instructions
Crème Brûlée
- Preheat oven - Preheat your oven to 160C / 320F.
- Heat milks and vanilla - Add both milks and salt to a large saucepan. Use a sharp knife to carefully split the vanilla bean in half. Use the sharp side to scrape the beans out. Mix on low heat until mixture barely begins to bubble. Take off the heat.
- Temper egg yolks - Add the egg yolks and sugar to a large mixing bowl or jug and whisk to combine, about 60 seconds.
- Bake - While whisking, slowly add the milk until all added. Add 4 medium sized ramekins to a deep baking dish. Fill each ramekin with egg milk mixture, making sure they’re all evenly filled. Fill the baking dish 1/4 of the way with boiling water and bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Cool - Once baked, they will still be a little jiggly in the centre. Take out of the baking dish and allow to cool completely.
- Caramel layer - When ready to serve, sprinkle with about 1 tsp of caster sugar and use a kitchen torch to caramelize into a thin layer of toffee.
Notes
Kitchen torch
I bought mine from a kitchenware store. It’s the best thing to use to turn the sugar into a thin crispy layer of toffee. If you don’t have one of these, I’ve heard of people being able to do it under an oven grill. Although it’s not going to result in a nice even toffee look.
Sugar
Also known as superfine sugar is the best sugar to use in my experience.
Vanilla bean - I used a Madagascar vanilla bean. Here in Australia, they sell them at Woolworths. You can also buy them on Amazon in bulk or from any reputable seller online. Alternative to a vanilla bean you can use vanilla bean paste which usually comes in little jars. You can also use vanilla extract. Always use good quality vanilla extract when baking, it makes a huge difference. I have a great recipe here for it if you’d like to try your own!
Storage - Crème Brûlée can be made a day in advance and have the crispy toffee added to it right before serving.
Nutrition – is an approximate and is based on per serving. This serves 4 people.
A note on measurements – This recipe uses weight measurements for the most accurate results. Cup measurements can vary depending on where you are, which affects the precision needed for a recipe like this. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales.
Nutrition
Calories:183kcal | Carbohydrates:10g | Protein:9g | Fat:12g | Saturated Fat:6g | Polyunsaturated Fat:1g | Monounsaturated Fat:4g | Cholesterol:220mg | Sodium:244mg | Potassium:303mg | Sugar:9g | Vitamin A:510IU | Vitamin C:1mg | Calcium:263mg | Iron:1mg
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