French Crème Brûlée

This classic French crème brûlée is a classic dessert made with a cream, egg yolks, and vanilla custard and topped with burnt sugar. Make it ahead of time and serve for your next special occasion!

📝 Ingredients

• 1 quart water for water bath (amount approximate)
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 lemon or orange (zest only)
• 4 tablespoons sugar (or more, use ~1 TB per ramekin)
• fresh berries or sliced stone-fruit (optional)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Preheat oven to 300ºF. Begin boiling water in a tea kettle (or in a small pot).Use a microplane grater to zest the lemon or orange. Take care to only remove the zest, and not the white pith.Add cream and milk to a pot and heat over medium heat. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
2. 2In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract, and citrus zest. Whisk until combined but not airy.
3. 3Slowly begin whisking the warm milk into the egg mixture. As you pour, continue whisking constantly. (This will help keep the eggs from cooking.)
4. 4Place 4-6 ramekins into a large baking dish. Divide the batter between the ramekins. Skim off any large bubbles.Carefully pour the hot water into the casserole dish, taking care not to splash water into the ramekins. Add water until the water-level reaches halfway up the ramekins.
5. 5Bake about 50-60 minutes, until the centers are set. If your ramekins are very shallow, begin checking on the custards after 35-40 minutes.Remove the custards from the baking dish and set aside to cool. Once they've reached room temperature, move the ramekins to the fridge.Chill for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. (The sugar won't caramelize as well if the custard isn't cold.)
6. 6Just before serving, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly across the top of each custard.Torch method:Use a kitchen torch to burn the sugar by moving the torch slowly across each custard dish. The sugar will darken and bubble up. Allow the bubbles to subside and the sugar to harden before serving. The sugar will harden within just a minute or two.Broiler method:Optionally, set the custards in a shallow pan filled with ice. (This will keep the custard cold while broiling.)Move an oven rack to about 4" below the broiler, and preheat the broiler to high. Move the custards under the broiler, and watch carefully until the sugar browns and bubbles. The timing will depend on your oven. Gas broilers may work in seconds; electric broilers may take several minutes. Remove from the broiler immediately.
7. 7Optionally, top with fresh berries or sliced stone fruit. Serve the crème brûlée immediately.