Crème Brûlée
A smooth vanilla custard with a delicate caramelized sugar top — rich, simple, and quietly elegant.
🤍 A Personal Note
Crème brûlée looks simple, but it teaches patience and control.
The texture should feel soft and silky, never grainy or heavy.
A good crème brûlée is not about sweetness , it’s about balance between cream, vanilla, and gentle cooking.
Ingredients
5 egg yolks
1 whole egg
500g heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
80g sugar
Before You Start
Heat gently — do not boil the custard
Stir constantly while cooking
Overbaking creates a buttery or curdled texture
Method
1. Prepare the Vanilla Cream
Split and scrape the vanilla bean.
Divide the sugar into two portions:
half for the yolks
half for the cream
In a saucepan, combine:
heavy cream
half the sugar
vanilla bean and seeds
Heat gently until steaming.
👉 Do not boil
2. Prepare the Egg Mixture
Whisk yolks, whole egg, and remaining sugar until smooth.
3. Temper the Custard
Slowly pour the warm cream into the egg mixture while whisking gently.
4. Cook the Custard
Return mixture to low-medium heat.
Stir continuously until slightly thickened and ribbon-like.
👉 Test with a spatula:
the custard should coat the surface without running immediately.
5. Bake
Pour custard into ramekins.
Place ramekins in a baking tray with a small amount of hot water.
Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 15–20 minutes.
How to Test Doneness
Touch the surface gently with your finger.
custard should feel set
surface should not stick to your finger
center should still have a slight softness
Common Mistakes
overheating custard → scrambled texture
boiling cream → grainy result
overbaking → buttery taste
too much water bath → uneven baking
Tip
Bake gently and remove while the custard still has a slight wobble — it will continue setting as it cools.
Finishing
Chill completely before topping with sugar and caramelizing.
🤍 Final Thought
Crème brûlée is quiet baking.
No decoration. No layers. No complicated technique.
Just texture, balance, and patience.
