Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée
Silky baked custard under a thin sheet of torched sugar that shatters when you tap it with a spoon. It is a restaurant dessert that is genuinely easy at home, as long as you bake it low and pull it while the center still trembles.
- Course
- Desserts
- Time
- 5 hr
- Servings
- 6
Cooking Notes
- Temper the yolks by adding the warm cream slowly while whisking. Pouring it in all at once can cook small pieces of egg before the custard reaches the oven.
- Bake in a water bath until the edges are set but the center still trembles. A completely firm custard in the oven will usually be overcooked once chilled.
- Torch the sugar shortly before serving. The caramelized top begins absorbing moisture from the custard as it sits and eventually loses its clean crack.
Recipe Card
Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée
By Gabriella
- Category
- Desserts
- Total Time
- 5 hr
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for the tops
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- 1
Warm the cream with the scraped vanilla bean and seeds until steaming, then let it sit off the heat for fifteen minutes to infuse.
- 2
Whisk the yolks with the sugar and salt until pale, then pour the warm cream in slowly while whisking so the eggs do not scramble.
- 3
Strain the custard, skim off any foam, and divide it between six shallow ramekins set in a roasting pan.
- 4
Pour boiling water halfway up the sides and bake at 325°F for thirty-five minutes, until set at the edges and jiggly in the middle.
- 5
Chill at least four hours, sprinkle a thin even layer of sugar on each, and torch until deep amber. Serve within twenty minutes.
