Crème brûlée (creme brulee) – the French dessert classic
Vanilla cream from the water bath with a crisp caramel layer
Creme brulee is one of the most famous desserts of all. Especially after a lovely restaurant meal, this meltingly tender vanilla cream with its crisp caramel layer makes a crowning finale. And yet it's a sweet treat we usually eat out – because we have such great respect for making it ourselves.
We'll show you that this French classic really is no magic trick, and that homemade it tastes even better. The most important thing with a creme brulee is the texture: it should be neither too soft nor too firm. With our recipe, you're guaranteed to get it right.
Ingredients
CREME BRULEE
FOR CARAMELISING
Step by step
Prepare the cream
Preheat the oven and mix the base
Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan. Put the egg yolk, crème fraîche and sugar into a Bowl and mix everything with a Whisk. Then add the vanilla seeds, the milk and the full cream and mix everything together well once more.
Instead of the vanilla seeds, you can also use natural extract or a vanilla Flavour paste – you'll find both in our range. And if you have a fresh Vanilla pod to hand, simply scrape out the seeds and add them to the base.
Bourbon vanilla seeds, 5 g
Natural extract, 20 ml
Small Whisk 21.5 cm
Fill and prepare the water bath
Pour the base into the Funnel and fill approx. 70 g into each heat-resistant ramekin – ideally ceramic or porcelain. Place the ramekins in a Cake tin or casserole dish and pour in water. The water should stand at least as high as the cream in the ramekins.
Funnel Ø 18 cm
Rectangular Cake tin 30 x 20 cm / 10 cm high
Lave beige dip bowls
Set and chill
Let it set in the water bath for 20 minutes
Place the moulds in the water bath on a tray, slide it into the oven preheated to 180 °C fan and let the cream set for approx. 20 minutes. It's ready when it's firm at the edge and still wobbles slightly in the centre when nudged.
Cool down and chill for at least 3 hours
After baking, lift the ramekins out of the water bath and let them cool for approx. 30 minutes at room temperature. Then put them in the fridge for at least 3 hours – only then does the cream reach its proper texture.
Caramelise and serve
Sprinkle with cane sugar and torch
Just before serving, sprinkle the surface with a little coarse cane sugar or ordinary brown sugar. Caramelise it with a blowtorch until the typical crisp layer forms. The flaming is the highlight of the dessert – you can even do it right at the table in front of your guests.
Blowtorch with safety ignition
Flamer
Decorate and serve fresh
Decorate the creme brulee with fresh berries, a little peppermint, whipped full cream or a scoop of ice cream – and serve it straight away, while the caramel layer still cracks.
Creme brulee
Ingredients
CREME BRULEE
FOR CARAMELISING
Preparation
- Base: Mix egg yolk, crème fraîche and sugar, add vanilla, milk and cream.
- Filling: Pour approx. 70 g into each heat-resistant ramekin.
- Water bath: Place ramekins in a dish, pour in water up to the level of the cream.
- Setting: 20 min at 180 °C fan – firm at the edge, centre still slightly wobbly.
- Chilling: 30 min at room temperature, then at least 3 hrs in the fridge.
- Brûlée: Sprinkle with coarse cane sugar and caramelise with the blowtorch.
- Serving: Serve immediately, while the caramel layer still cracks.
Nutritional values per 100 g
Storage & shelf life
Everything for this recipe
Recommended from our bakery — exactly the sizes the recipe was tested with.
Ingredients
Bourbon vanilla seeds, 5 g
Natural extract, 20 ml
Equipment
Small Whisk 21.5 cm
Funnel Ø 18 cm
Rectangular Cake tin 30 x 20 cm / 10 cm high
Lave beige dip bowls
Blowtorch with safety ignition
Flamer
Delivery in 1–2 working days · Free shipping from CHF 100
So your creme brulee is guaranteed to succeed
Without a water bath the cream sets at the edge before the centre has set – and the egg yolk curdles. The water provides even, gentle heat. It has to stand at least as high as the cream in the ramekins, otherwise it only affects the lower part.
The cream is ready when it's firm at the edge and still wobbles slightly in the centre like jelly when you nudge the dish. If you wait until the centre looks firm too, it ends up too firm in the fridge and loses its melting tenderness.
Stir the base only until it's combined – don't whip it. Air bubbles rise to the surface during baking and leave little craters, on which the caramel layer later turns out uneven. Skim off any foam on the base with a spoon before filling.
Frequently asked questions
In a pinch, yes, using the oven grill: push the ramekins right to the top, set the grill to its highest setting and watch for just one to two minutes. The result is less even and the cream underneath gets warm – so it needs to go back in the fridge briefly afterwards. With the blowtorch the cream stays cold and only the sugar gets hot, and it's exactly this contrast that makes the dessert.
Then it was too hot or too long in the oven: the egg yolk has curdled. Make sure the water bath really stands high enough, and take the ramekins out as soon as the centre only wobbles slightly. Too much stirring with the mixer can also be to blame – the base should only be stirred, not whipped.
Flat, wide ramekins made of ceramic or porcelain are ideal: the cream sets more evenly and there's more surface for the caramel layer – the best ratio of crunch to cream. Tall, narrow ramekins take longer in the oven. All that matters is that they're heat-resistant and can withstand the flame of the torch.
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Related products
Bunsen burner with safety ignition
Cake baking pan rectangular 30 x 20 cm / 10 cm high
Vanilla extract, 20 ml
Flambé
Bourbon vanilla seeds, 5 g
Funnel Ø 18 cm
Whisk Small 21.5 cm
Lave beige dip bowl
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