Egg yolks: Save the egg whites for an omelet or meringue! 

  • Granulated sugar: Gets mixed into the custard to sweeten it and is also sprinkled on top to caramelize. 

  • Heavy whipping cream: Should be at least 36% fat. 

  • Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor. 

Directions:

To make this easy crème brûlée, start by setting a pot of water to boil while you’re preparing the mixture. The water will be used for a water bath to cook them in, which I’ll explain a little later on.

Then, whisk together six egg yolks and some sugar. You want to make sure to whisk them together just until the mixture is a pale yellow color like the picture above. Then, just set the bowl aside while you heat up your heavy whipping cream.

Now, some recipes call for just whisking all of the ingredients together and not heating up the cream first. However, I find that heating the cream and then tempering the eggs with it helps the eggs withstand the higher temperature of the oven. 

To heat the cream, simply place it in a saucepan over medium heat. Once your cream is steaming and bubbling around the edges, remove it from the heat and stir in your vanilla extract. The next step is to temper the eggs, which helps bring up the temperature of the eggs so that once you add the rest of the cream the eggs don’t end up scrambled. I promise this step is easy though!

To temper the eggs, slowly pour in about half a cup of the warm cream into the egg and sugar mixture whisking well as you’re pouring it in. Then, slowly pour in the rest of the cream and continue whisking. You may end up with a little layer of foam on top of the mixture, I like to just skim it off with a spoon so that it doesn’t end up on top of the crème brûlée as it bakes.

Tempering the eggs will help prevent your eggs from completely scrambling, but it is still best to strain the mixture to remove any little bits of egg that may have cooked from pouring in the cream. I like to use a fine mesh strainer and pour it into a large glass measuring cup so it’s easy to pour into the ramekins. 

Next, pour the crème brûlée into four 6-ounce ramekins. You can use any size ramekins that you like for this recipe, but I really love these 6-ounce ramekins.

Then, fill a baking dish with the boiling water about 1/3 of the way full and place the ramekins in it. The water should come about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This will create a water bath for the crème brûlée so that it bakes slowly and evenly in the oven. 

Once they’re done, let them cool at room temperature, then refrigerate them for at least 4 hours or overnight. Once they’re thoroughly chilled, you’ll top each one with some granulated sugar (superfine sugar works great if you have it on hand!) and use a small kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar.

HOW LONG DO YOU BAKE CRÈME BRÛLÉE?

The crème brûlée will take anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes in the oven and the baking time will vary slightly if you use a different size ramekin. You’ll know they’re finished once the edges are set and they’re still slightly jiggly in the center.

DO I HAVE TO USE A KITCHEN TORCH? 

A small kitchen torch will work best for caramelizing the sugar on top, but you may also broil these in the oven. If you do broil these in the oven, I suggest placing them back in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes so that the custard will be chilled.

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