Classic Crème Brûlée

The one French dessert that everyone should master!

Servings 6

Total Time 1 30

Ingredients

CUSTARD

400 Milliliters(1/2 Liter) Heavy Cream (30-35% fat cream)
100 Grams(3.5 oz) Whole Milk
100 Sugar
6 Egg Yolks
1 Vanilla Pod

TOPPING

6 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar (about 1 tablespoon per crème brûlée)

Instructions

Bring milk and cream & vanilla or other flavor like Tonka beans, to a gentle simmer. Meanwhile, mix the egg yolks with the sugar.
Pour the hot cream over the yolk and sugar mixture, pouring slowly and gently mix the eggs to temper them. (This way we are bringing up the temperature of the eggs little by little, with little risk of cooking the egg). Keep stirring with the whisk or the back of the ladle as not to incorporate air, creating bubbles.
Arrange 6 molds in a roasting pan and fill the molds with the cream mixture. Add enough water to the pan to come to 3/4 of the way up to the outsides of the molds. Bake in a preheated oven at 110ºC/230ºF for approximately 30 minutes, or until set. (The water around the molds should not boil or evaporate completely) Remove from the oven and cool in the fridge.
Just before serving, sprinkle the top of the custard with granulated sugar and use a torch to caramelise until it becomes a dark brown color.

Notes

To flavor your crème brûlée:

If you are using fruits that are not too juicy (i.e. not peaches but figs, raspberries, strawberries etc), place them raw into the bottom of your ramekins before pouring on the cream. Other fruits like apples or pears would need to be sautéed or caramelized before but as these are more difficult to work with it takes a bit of fiddling before you get the consistency you want.

If you want to do a chocolate crème brulée, you can add a few squares of chocolate but you would need to add an additional egg yolk. This can be said for any ingredient that would add a good amount of liquid to the batter including juicier fruits.

Join the Conversation

Pdebisschop says:

May 7, 2024 12:29 pm

I attended a dessert class last week with chef Christian. He said all the recipes would be emailed to us.. hope we will receive this week!
Pamela de Bisschop. Pdebisschop@nyc.rr.com

1. Jessica Greener says:
  
  May 7, 2024 8:17 pm
  
  Hi Pamela, I hope that you enjoyed your class with Chef Christian! He sent out the recipe emails to you and your classmates on the same day as the class (we ask our chefs to send their recipes with a maximum delay of 10 working days, but usually they’re sent out sooner than this 😊).
  
  I’ve sent you an email with a copy of his message to you along with the recipe booklet link, if you still have trouble accessing it, please feel welcome to let us know. You can always email us at info@cooknwithclass.com