If you’re after the best homemade Crème Brûlée, you’re in the right place. This classic French dessert - a velvety custard under a crisp, caramelised sugar top - turns up on smart restaurant menus with a hefty price tag. The happy secret is that it’s genuinely easy to make at home for a fraction of the cost.
My step-by-step method gets you there without any fuss: a smooth, just-set custard and that satisfying crack of golden sugar on top, every time. Once you’ve made it once, you’ll wonder why you ever paid restaurant prices.
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Pin itWhat Crème Brûlée Should Feel Like
Two textures in one spoonful, and the contrast between them is the whole dish. The custard should be silky and just set - firm enough to hold the shape of the spoon, loose enough to fall off it. Chilled, it wobbles gently as a soft jelly does rather than moving as a liquid. It should feel smooth on the tongue with nothing grainy or curdled about it, and it should be cold. The caramel on top should be a thin sheet of glass, thin enough to crack under the back of a spoon in one go rather than shattering into shards, and still faintly warm from the torch.
If yours is grainy, it went too hot in the oven. If it is soupy under the crust it either came out too early or has not had long enough in the fridge, since it carries on setting as it chills. If the top is chewy or sticky rather than brittle, the sugar was laid on too thick, or the caramel has been sitting on the cold custard long enough to draw moisture out of it - which is why it is torched at the last minute rather than in advance.
Equipment You’ll Need
Very little, and the ramekins matter more than anything else on the list.
Flavour Variations for Crème Brûlée
Looking to put a unique spin on your Crème Brûlée? Here are some delicious flavour variations to try:
- Hint of Cinnamon: For a warm, comforting flavour, add a cinnamon stick to the cream while heating (do not bring to boil!). Allow it to steep for 20 minutes, then remove the stick before continuing with the recipe. The result is a subtly spiced Crème Brûlée that’s perfect for any season.
- Coffee Kick: Add 25 ml of super-strong espresso, easily prepared with instant coffee, for a lovely coffee-flavoured Crème Brûlée. Mix the espresso into the cream after heating and before combining it with the egg mixture for a rich, aromatic twist.
- Citrus Zest: Infuse your Crème Brûlée with the bright flavours of citrus by heating the cream with strips of orange or lemon zest. Let it steep for about 20 minutes before straining the zest out. This adds a refreshing, tangy note to the creamy custard.
Pin itA Closer Look at the Ingredients
Five ingredients, and each one is a decision:
- Double cream 420 ml. The fat is what makes it silky and it is also what protects the yolks, because a fattier custard sets more gently and is far harder to scramble. Instead: whipping cream gives a slightly lighter set and works well. Single cream does not: with that much less fat you get something closer to a baked egg custard.
- Whole milk 100 ml, and it is there on purpose rather than to save money. An all-cream custard is rich to the point of being heavy, and cutting roughly a fifth of the liquid with milk keeps it silky while leaving you able to finish the ramekin. Instead: all cream if you want it richer, and expect a firmer, heavier set.
- Egg yolks Five medium, and they are the only thing setting this custard. There is no flour, no cornflour and no gelatine, which is why the oven temperature and the timing carry so much weight here. Instead: four large yolks come to about the same. The five whites left over keep four days in the fridge, freeze for three months, and are exactly the quantity for meringues.
- Caster sugar 70 g in the custard, and about a teaspoon and a half more over each ramekin at the end. The fine grains matter more on top than in the mix, because they melt evenly into a thin sheet rather than a patchy one. Instead: granulated in the custard is fine since it dissolves anyway. On top it is worth using caster.
- Vanilla bean paste A teaspoon. Paste carries the seeds without the business of splitting and steeping a pod, and you can see them in the finished custard. Instead: a split pod steeped in the warm cream for twenty minutes is the best of the three, and good extract is the least trouble. Avoid vanilla flavouring, which tastes thin against this much cream.
How to Make Creme Brulee, Step by Step
Eleven steps, and only two of them are difficult: tempering the eggs, and knowing when to take the dish out of the oven. Both are explained below rather than left to luck.
- Heat the oven to 160 C fan. Put it on before you touch the cream, because the custard wants to go into a fully heated oven and a water bath that has to warm up as well as the oven is the commonest reason a bake runs long.
- Set the ramekins up first. Stand six 90 ml ramekins in a deep roasting dish with a gap between them and enough headroom that foil can go over the top without touching the custard. Doing this now rather than later matters, because once the mixture is made you will be carrying a jug of hot liquid and a tray of water at the same time.
- Cream, milk and vanilla into a pan. Whisk them together cold. The milk is there on purpose: an all-cream custard is richer and heavier, and cutting a third of it with milk gives a set that is still silky but that you can eat a whole ramekin of after dinner.
- Beat the yolks with 70 g of the sugar. Whisk until the mixture pales slightly and the sugar is dissolved rather than gritty. Do not beat air into it; you want it combined, not aerated, because the bubbles you whip in now are the ones you have to skim off later.
- Bring the cream to 80 C, and do not let it boil. Medium heat, and take it off as the first bubbles form at the edge. Boiled cream splits the flavour and can catch on the base of the pan, and you do not want it hotter than the custard is going to set at anyway. Pour it into a jug.
- Temper: hot into cold, slowly. Pour the hot cream into the yolks in a thin stream, stirring the whole time. This is the step that decides whether you get custard or scrambled egg. It is the same step behind the pouring custard on my berry crumble, which is stirred on the hob instead of baked. Yolks poured into hot cream, or hot cream tipped in all at once, set in strings on contact. Adding the hot to the cold gradually keeps the yolks below setting temperature until they are thinned out through the whole mixture.
- Skim the foam off. Take a big spoon and lift off every bubble on the surface, then pour the mixture back into the jug. Foam bakes into a pale, pitted skin that will not take a smooth caramel later, so this is a cosmetic step that shows on every single spoonful. Straining through a sieve at this point does no harm either.
- Fill, then fill the bath. Pour the custard into the ramekins, then add hot tap water to the roasting dish until it comes about three quarters of the way up their sides. The water is what stops this curdling: it holds the outside of the custard below boiling, so the edges cannot race ahead of the middle. Pour the water in at the side of the dish rather than over the ramekins.
- Cover and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Foil over the top with a small gap at each end so steam can leave. It is ready when the custard is set at the edges and still wobbles in the middle like a soft jelly when you nudge the dish. Take it out while it still wobbles. A custard sets somewhere around 80 C and there is no rescuing one that goes past it: a split cream can be strained, but an overbaked custard is grainy for good. Deep or wide ramekins will need longer, so go by the wobble rather than the clock.
- Cool, then chill. Lift the ramekins out of the water with gloves or tongs and let them cool on a rack for a few minutes, then into the fridge for at least an hour. Longer is better and overnight is better again, because the set carries on firming as it cools and a short chill is the usual reason a brulee feels loose under the spoon. Leave them uncovered until cold or condensation drips back onto the surface.
- Sugar and torch, at the last minute. Sprinkle about 1.5 tsp of caster sugar over each one and tilt the ramekin so it spreads in a thin even layer, because a thick patch burns before the thin bits melt. Hold the flame just off the surface and keep it moving until the sugar bubbles and turns deep amber. Do it within about ten minutes of serving: the caramel starts drawing moisture out of the custard immediately and a topping left to stand goes from glass to syrup.
Recipe Card for Homemade Crème Brûlée
The Best Homemade Creme Brulee
A baked vanilla custard cut with a little milk so it sets silky rather than heavy, in shallow ramekins under a foil-covered water bath, with a thin sheet of caster sugar torched to order.
Equipment I Use
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat to 160°C with the fan setting.
Arrange six 90 ml ramekins in a deep baking dish, leaving enough space to cover with foil without touching the tops.
In a small saucepan, whisk together the double cream, milk, and vanilla bean paste.
In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and 70 g of caster sugar until well combined.
Place the saucepan with the cream mixture over medium heat. Bring to 80°C or until bubbles start forming (do not boil). Remove from heat and transfer to a jug.
Gradually pour the hot cream mixture into the beaten egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Use a large spoon to scoop any foam from the surface of the liquid and discard. Return the mixture to the jug.
Fill the baking dish with hot tap water to reach about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully pour the mixture into the ramekins.
Cover the dish with foil, leaving a small gap on both sides to allow air circulation. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the mixture is set but still jiggles slightly.
Use oven gloves to remove the ramekins from the baking dish. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Before serving, sprinkle about 1.5 tsp of caster sugar over each ramekin. Using a blow torch, caramelise the sugar until a golden, crispy layer forms.
Chef’s notes
Add the hot cream to the cold yolks, in a thin stream. The other way round scrambles them on contact.
Take it out while it still wobbles in the middle. A custard sets around 80 C and there is no rescuing one that goes past it. Deeper ramekins want longer, so judge the wobble rather than the clock: 8 oz ramekins can need 50 to 55 minutes.
Skim the foam before it goes in the oven, or it bakes into a pitted skin that will not take a smooth caramel.
An hour in the fridge is the minimum, not the target. Overnight sets better.
Torch within ten minutes of serving. The caramel starts softening against the cold custard straight away. No torch: grill on the top shelf with the ramekins packed in ice, 1 to 3 minutes, then chill again for 20 minutes.
Keeps covered in the fridge up to 3 days. Do not freeze.
Nutrition per serving
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FAQ for Crème Brûlée
What does Crème Brûlée taste like?
Crème Brûlée features a rich and velvety custard base with a hint of vanilla, topped with a contrasting layer of crisp, caramelised sugar. Its flavour is a blend of sweetness and creaminess, while the caramelised top adds a slight bitterness and crunch, creating a lovely play of textures and flavours in every bite.
Is Crème Brûlée gluten-free?
Yes, traditional Crème Brûlée is gluten-free, as its primary ingredients are cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla. However, always check recipes or ingredient labels for any added components or potential cross-contamination, especially if you require a strictly gluten-free dish.
What are Crème Brûlée flavours?
Crème Brûlée traditionally has a vanilla-flavoured custard base, but you can find variations like chocolate, coffee, citrus, lavender, and even matcha, among others, for a unique twist on the classic recipe.
What is the best ramekin for Crème Brûlée?
The ideal ramekin for Crème Brûlée is a shallow, round, oven-safe ceramic or porcelain dish with a diameter of 4 to 5 inches. This size allows for even cooking and achieves the perfect balance between the caramelised sugar topping and the custard.
How to tell when Crème Brûlée is done?
Crème Brûlée is done when the edges are set, but the centre still has a slight jiggle when gently shaken; it should not be liquid but should resemble a soft-set custard. Overbaking can lead to a curdled texture, so it’s essential to monitor closely during the final minutes of baking.
Crème Brûlée vs. flan: Crème Brûlée is a French dessert with a creamy custard base and a hard, caramelised sugar top. In contrast, flan, also known as caramel custard, is a smooth custard with a soft caramel topping and is popular in many countries, including Spain and Mexico.
Why is my creme brulee still runny?
Almost always one of three things. The ramekins were deeper than the recipe assumes, so the middle never got there in 40 minutes. The water bath went in cold or shallow, so the oven spent its time heating the water rather than the custard. Or it went into the fridge for an hour when it wanted three. A custard that wobbled evenly across the whole surface when it came out, rather than only in the middle, was underbaked and needs longer next time.
Why did it come out grainy or scrambled?
It got too hot. A custard sets at around 80 C and it does not have much room above that before the egg proteins squeeze together and force the liquid out, which reads as grainy at the edges and weeping in the dish. The other cause is the tempering: if the hot cream went into the yolks quickly instead of in a thin stream, some of the yolk cooked on contact. Unlike a stirred custard, a baked one cannot be rescued by straining.
Does ramekin size change the baking time?
Yes, and it is the most common reason people find our timing wrong. This recipe is written for six shallow 90 ml ramekins. Standard 8 oz ramekins are both wider and deeper, and the same mixture in those can want 50 to 55 minutes. Depth matters more than width. Whatever you use, start checking at 35 minutes and judge it by the wobble.
What do I do with the leftover egg whites?
You will have five. They keep in a sealed tub in the fridge for about four days and they freeze well for three months, which is the simplest answer. Otherwise they are exactly the quantity for meringues or a pavlova, and they make a good egg-white omelette. Bring them to room temperature before whisking, because cold whites take much longer to reach stiff peaks.
Can I make it ahead, and can I freeze it?
Made ahead, yes, and it is better for it. The custards keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Torch the sugar only just before serving, because the caramel softens within about half an hour of meeting the cold custard. Freezing is not worth it: the set breaks on thawing and comes back watery.
What sugar should I use on top?
Caster sugar. The fine grains melt evenly and quickly, which is what gives you a thin sheet of caramel rather than a patchy one. Granulated works but takes longer and is more likely to burn in places while other grains sit unmelted. Demerara gives a darker, slightly toffee flavour and a thicker, more rubbly crust, which some people prefer and which is a legitimate choice rather than a mistake.
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- For another French treat, try my Tarte Tatin
A Few Words from the Chef
Creating this Crème Brûlée recipe has been a lovely journey into the world of classic French desserts. I love how this recipe brings out the rich, creamy flavour of the custard with just a handful of simple ingredients. Feel free to experiment - try different flavour infusions, like citrus zest or a hint of espresso, or adjust the sweetness to suit your taste. The beauty of Crème Brûlée lies in its elegance and simplicity, making it an impressive yet easy dessert for any occasion. Enjoy the process, and let this become a much-loved addition to your dessert repertoire!
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