Broiled Crème Brûlée Recipe for When You Don’t Have a Culinary Torch
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No culinary torch? No problem! This Broiled Crème Brûlée Recipe offers the perfect solution to creating the trademark crunchy topping using the broiler (or grill) in your oven. It takes 75 minutes to make using heavy cream, sugar, vanilla bean, and egg yolks and rewards you with a stunning dessert.
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Broiled Crème Brûlée
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions, to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.
If you’re looking for a dessert to impress your dinner guests, look no further than crème brûlée!
This classic French dessert is sure to please everyone’s sweet tooth. In this recipe, we’ll show you how to make crème brûlée using just a few simple ingredients.
And, don’t panic if you haven’t got a culinary torch to make the signature crunchy sugar topping, you’ll be using the broiler (grill) in your oven to finish the dish.
So why not give it a try? Your guests will be amazed!
What is Crème Brûlée?
Crème Brûlée is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard while leaving the center cool. The custard base is traditionally flavored with vanilla in French cuisine but can have other flavorings. It is sometimes garnished with fruit.
Wikipedia
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been linked to Amazon or other stores if available online.
It may not include staple ingredients such as oil, salt, sugar, etc., as you’re likely to have those in your kitchen. The complete list of ingredients with measurements is found in the recipe card.
- Fresh Produce – Raspberries, Mint (for garnish)
- Dairy – Heavy Cream
- Whole Vanilla Bean
- Granulated Sugar
- Coarse Sugar – for the crunchy topping, use a sugar such as Turbinado or Demerara
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog. I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. Please note, you can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never mix imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).
More Recipes Using Vanilla
One of the hero ingredients in this dish is vanilla, so here are some more recipes using the same:
- How To Make Vanilla Chai Latte at Home – A PSL Alternative!
- Lemon and Fig Olive Oil Cakes with Mascarpone & Vanilla-Fig Jam
- Easy Homemade Vanilla Fig Jam Recipe
More Dessert Recipes
Looking for more desserts to make? Check these recipes out next:
- Rich, Creamy & Comforting Instant Pot Rice Pudding Recipe
- Classic Banana Cream Pie Recipe (From Scratch!)
- Pumpkin Pie Crème Brûlée
Recipe Tips
- Cook time will vary depending on the size and depth of ramekins used. Not surprisingly, shallower ramekins require less time. Regardless, check after 25-30 minutes and adjust final cook time accordingly.
- It is easier to separate eggs when they are still chilled. Reserve the leftover egg whites for another use after separating.
Caramelizing The Sugar Topping
- Normally, a small propane kitchen torch is used to create the coveted caramelized sugar topping that makes crème brûlée so popular.
- The broiling (grilling, in the UK) method described here is a nice alternative for those who either don’t have access to a kitchen torch or are reluctant to use one for safety reasons.
- The goal with crème brûlée is to create a warm, crunchy top layer complemented by a cooler, refreshing layer of chilled custard at the bottom.
- With this in mind, this recipe was tested in two different sized ramekins: A deeper 6-oz. version and a wider, shallower 5-oz option.
- The result: The broiling method described here works better with the deeper 6-oz. ramekin because the heat from the broiler didn’t affect the temperature and consistency of the custard throughout as much as it did in the shallower version. The shallower dish is ideal if using a kitchen torch, however.
How Do I Make Broiled Crème Brûlée?
Check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.
Broiled Crème Brûlée
No culinary torch? No problem! This Broiled Crème Brûlée Recipe offers the perfect solution to creating the trademark crunchy topping using the broiler (or grill) in your oven.
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups heavy cream (double cream)
- 1 whole vanilla bean
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 6 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup coarse sugar (turbinado or demerara)
- Fresh raspberries and mint sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3. Boil the water by adding it to a tea kettle or pan set over high heat. Place 4 (6-oz) ramekins into a large high-sided baking dish. Set aside.
- Pour the cream into a heavy-bottomed pan. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise with a sharp knife. Scrape out the pulp with the tip of the knife and add it, along with the remaining whole vanilla bean, to the cream. Add the salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- Set the cream over medium-low heat and bring to a gentle simmer. When the cream reaches 82°C/180°F on an instant-read thermometer, remove from heat. Carefully remove the vanilla bean pod from the pan and either reserve it for another use or discard.
- Temper the eggs by adding a couple tablespoons of the warm cream mixture to the mixing bowl of whisked eggs. Stir to combine, then slowly whisk the tempered egg mixture into the cream until thoroughly combined.
- Remove the kettle from heat and carefully pour the hot water into the baking dish around the ramekins to create a water bath. Do not allow any water to splash inside the ramekins while doing so.
- Divide the egg mixture among the ramekins, without overfilling.
- Place the baking dish into the center of the preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the custard just starts to set. (It should still be a little loose and wobbly in the center).
- Remove the baking pan from the oven and cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, but preferably overnight.
- Just before serving, adjust the top oven rack to the first or second position, leaving 3-4” between the broiler and the top of the ramekins, once added. Set the broiler to high.
- Sprinkle the top of each ramekin with an even layer of coarse sugar and place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes, or just until the sugar is nicely browned and caramelized. Watch carefully to prevent burning.
- Remove from oven and carefully transfer the ramekins to a baking rack to cool for several minutes.
- Serve immediately topped with some fresh raspberries and sprigs of mint, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Cook time will vary depending on the size and depth of ramekins used. Not surprisingly, shallower ramekins require less time. Regardless, check after 25-30 minutes and adjust final cook time accordingly.
- Tip: It is easier to separate eggs when they are still chilled. Reserve the leftover egg whites for another use after separating.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 673Total Fat: 51gSaturated Fat: 30gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 460mgSodium: 225mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 0gSugar: 42gProtein: 13g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Special Dinner!
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a special meal or dinner party:
- Appetizer: Garlic Parmesan Shrimp with Roasted Garlic Dip – Perfect for Sharing!
- Soup: How To Make Gluten-Free French Onion Soup Recipe
- Salad: Fig and Roasted Fennel Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Main Dish: Rosemary Garlic Beef Tenderloin
- Side Dish: Creamy Instant Pot Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Beverage: Blackberry Vodka Cocktail
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too.