Classic Vanilla Crème Brûlée
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen, Serious Eats and NYT Cooking.
A rich vanilla custard of cream, milk and egg yolks baked gently in a water bath, chilled, then topped with demerara sugar torched to a crisp amber shell.
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Method
- 1
Infuse the cream. Put the cream, milk, salt and the split vanilla pod with its scraped seeds in the saucepan and bring just to a simmer over medium-low heat. Take it off the heat, cover and leave for 30 min so the vanilla flavours the whole batch.
- 2
Mix the custard. Heat the oven to 160 °C (140 °C fan). Whisk the yolks and caster sugar in the bowl until smooth, then pour the warm cream through the sieve onto them, whisking slowly. Gentle whisking keeps the custard free of foam, which would otherwise bake into a bubbly top; discard the pod.
- 3
Bake in a water bath. Stand the ramekins in the roasting tin, share the custard between them and pour just-boiled water into the tin until it comes two-thirds up their sides. Bake for 30-40 min, until the edges are set and the centres wobble like jelly when nudged and read 79-81 °C. The water keeps the heat gentle so the yolks set smoothly instead of curdling.
- 4
Cool and chill. Lift the ramekins out onto a rack and leave for 1 h, then chill them uncovered for at least 4 h. The custard firms as it chills, and you can cover and keep it for up to 2 days.
- 5
Caramelise the top. Blot any drops of moisture from the surface, scatter 1 tsp demerara over each custard and tilt so it covers evenly. Move the blowtorch flame in slow circles until the sugar melts, bubbles and turns deep amber. Leave for 2 min so the crust hardens, and serve within 30 min while it is still crisp.
Storage
Keep the baked, untopped custards covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Add and torch the sugar just before serving; the crust softens within an hour.
Equipment
- medium saucepan with lid
- large mixing bowl
- whisk
- fine sieve
- jug
- six 170 ml ramekins
- deep roasting tin
- kettle
- instant-read thermometer
- kitchen blowtorch
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 443 kcal |
| Protein | 6.7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 25.7 g |
| of which sugars | 25.2 g |
| of which free sugars | 20.7 g |
| Fat | 35.5 g |
| of which saturates | 21.1 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Salt | 0.25 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.5 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
