Vanilla Crème Brûlée

Vanilla crème brûlée is one of those desserts that looks like it’s from the best steakhouse and is entirely within reach. The perfect creamy dessert ready for date night or any dinner party.

This crème brûlée recipe is perfectly rich and sweet, flavored with real vanilla beans for a complex vanilla flavor! Like my pots de crème, the creamy custard base has just enough eggs to set without making the dessert taste eggy. Combined with the delightful contrast from the dark, crispy caramel top, and with only 7 ingredients, this dessert will surely impress! Looking for a fun and impressive take on this dessert? Check out my crème brûlée pie (coming soon!) and the masterclass!

You know me: I love to dive deep and obsess over making the perfect version of whatever dessert I’m currently obsessing over! I spent months in restaurants perfecting the ingredient ratios to ensure the perfect vanilla custard flavor, just like this homemade vanilla pudding, and a light, creamy texture we all desire in a crème brûlée!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Heavy Cream: This is the backbone of the custard, responsible for the richness and that signature silky set. Do not substitute half-and-half or whole milk — the fat content of heavy cream is what prevents the custard from weeping or curdling as it bakes.
• Sugar
• Kosher Salt
• Vanilla Bean: Split and scraped into the cream, the bean infuses the custard with deep, floral vanilla flavor that extract alone cannot fully replicate just like with my creme angliase. Steep the pod in the cream as it heats, then remove it before tempering.
• Whole Egg and Egg Yolks: The single whole egg provides a small amount of structure, while the yolks carry the fat that makes the custard dense and smooth rather than gelatinous. Use large eggs and separate the yolks carefully — even a little white thrown off by a broken yolk will shift the texture.
• Vanilla Extract
• Granulated Sugar for Topping: This is the layer you will caramelize with a torch. Use plain granulated sugar rather than turbinado — the finer crystals melt evenly into a smooth, glassy crust without patchy burnt spots.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations on This Vanilla Crème Brûlée

• Flavor with additions. Think easy pumpkin pie, pistachio paste, Nutella, or melted chocolate! Immersion-blender: whisk in additional flavorings after tempering the eggs! As with most additions, start small and add slowly. Things like Nutella and pistachio paste will add sweetness, so keep that in mind when sweetening your custard base.
• Flavor with extracts. Replace the vanilla extract with almond, cherry, mint, or coffee. There are so many fun extracts out there! Just be aware that extracts come with different strengths. Start small and add more to taste. You can always make the flavor stronger, but you can’t take it away.
• Flavor with Infusions. When heating the heavy cream, add spices, bananas, or toasted nuts. Allow to sit for an hour or two before straining.
• Add some fun toppings. Add macerated berries, pumpkin seed brittle, cinnamon streusel, or top with some cherry pie filling! When adding a “wet” topping, I would either serve it on the side or place it on top right before serving so the crunch from the bruleed top isn’t lost. Use my raspberry pound cake tiramisu as inspiration!

Professional Tips

• Skim all the foam off the top of the custard base. The foam or bubbles won’t go away when you bake. They will solidify, creating texture on top of the crème brûlée. This can be done with a spoon, ladle, or plastic wrap. Once divided among the ramekins, quickly run a kitchen torch over the tops to pop the remaining bubbles.
• Divide the sugar between the heavy cream and the eggs. The sugar helps keep the heavy cream from scorching and protects the eggs when tempering. You can just measure once and then eyeball half in each—it won’t make a difference, I promise!
• Be careful not to over- or underbake the crème brûlée. Baking is the most important part of a crème brûlée. Underbake, and you will have a soupy, unset custard base; overbake, and you will have sweetened baked eggs. The crème brûlée, when done, will jiggle cohesively like Jell-O. If you really aren’t sure, you can use the spoon test: If the custard holds the weight of a small spoon, it is done!
• Torch cold custard right before serving. The sugar on crème brûlée should be caramelized right before serving. It will soften after only 10 minutes. Do not believe the lies elsewhere! You know from my [caramel pudding] that 2 hours is an eternity when it comes to custard.

How to Make Vanilla Crème Brûlée

Start with the custard base, since it needs at least two hours to chill before you can brûlée and serve. Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Set the oven rack to the middle position before you begin anything else. You want it away from the broiler element so the tops of the custards cook gently from ambient heat rather than direct overhead heat.

Make the Custard

Step 2: Heat the cream mixture. In a saucepan, combine the cream, half the sugar (not the portion set aside for topping), the salt, and the split and scraped vanilla bean. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a full boil. You will see small bubbles forming at the edges first, then a rolling boil at the center. Pull it off the heat the moment it boils.

You know from my pastry cream recipe that when scraping a vanilla bean, use a paring knife and place the vanilla bean on the counter. Holding one end of the bean, use the tip of the knife to insert the blade halfway into the bean, then slice until it reaches the end. Fold the two ends of the pod open and still hold one end, using the back of the paring knife to scrape the open pod. This will help you scrape the most out of the vanilla bean.

Step 3: Whisk the eggs and sugar until lightened. While the cream heats, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk, and the remaining sugar (again, not the topping portion) in a large bowl until the mixture looks slightly pale and the texture smooths out.

This technique is called blanchir, which means “to whiten” in French. The sugar begins to dissolve into the yolks, which helps protect them from the heat in the next step.

Step 4: Temper the eggs. Once the cream mixture has come to a boil, slowly pour it into the egg mixture in a thin, steady stream while whisking constantly. Do not rush this. If you dump all the hot cream in at once, you will scramble the eggs. Add the cream gradually until it is fully incorporated. The finished mixture should look smooth and fluid, not curdled or lumpy.

If your mixture looks slightly curdled from adding the cream too quickly, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve before proceeding. In most cases this, will catch any cooked egg bits and leave you with a smooth custard base. If there is significant scrambling, it is better to start again than to bake a grainy custard.

Step 5: Add vanilla extract and remove foam. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then skim off any foam from the surface. You can use a large spoon to lift it off, or lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface and peel it away. Foam left on the surface will bake into an uneven, slightly strange texture on your finished crème brûlée, so this step is worth the extra minute.

Divide and Bake

Step 6: Divide the custard into ramekins. Pour the custard evenly among your ramekins, ensuring they are all filled to the same level. Uneven levels mean uneven baking times, and some will be overdone before others are set. I prefer to use a kitchen scale to weigh the custard out. Depending on the size of your ramekins, this weight will differ.

Step 7: Place ramekins in the baking dish and pop surface bubbles. Arrange the filled ramekins in a large, deep oven-safe dish or roasting pan. Run a kitchen torch quickly over the surface of each ramekin, just a fast pass or two. This pops any remaining small bubbles instantly.

Step 8: Cover the dish and add the water bath. Cover the entire roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil, leaving a small overhang so steam does not escape. Fold back one corner just enough to see inside. Transfer the pan carefully to the middle oven rack, keeping it level. Through the open corner, pour hot water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins, then seal that corner back down completely. The water bath keeps the oven environment humid and the heat gentle, which is how crème brûlée achieves its silky, trembling texture rather than a rubbery or pocked surface.

Use a kettle or pitcher with a pour spout to add the water through the foil corner without splashing into the custards.

Step 9: Bake until set with a jiggle. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes; start checking at 20. The custards are done when the centers jiggle like Jell-O, with a unified wobble across the whole surface rather than a liquid slosh in the middle. If you prefer a physical test, press a small spoon lightly onto the center. If it holds the weight without sinking, the custard is set. The edges should look just barely set, and the center should still have movement.

Baking time will vary based on the depth and width of your ramekins. Shallow, wide ramekins will set faster than deep, narrow ones. Check at 20 minutes regardless of ramekin size, and add time in 3 to 5 minute increments from there.

Step 10: Remove ramekins and cool. Using kitchen tongs and a folded towel for grip, carefully lift each ramekin out of the water bath and transfer to a cooling rack or baking sheet. Let them cool to room temperature, then cover each one with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but overnight is better. The custard will firm up and the flavor will deepen as it chills.

Brûlée the Top and Serve

Step 11: Sugar the top and tilt to coat. When you are ready to serve, sprinkle about ½ teaspoon of granulated sugar directly onto the surface of each chilled custard. The exact amount will depend on the diameter of your ramekin. Tilt the ramekin and rotate it slowly so the sugar spreads into an even, thin layer across the entire surface. Bare spots will burn before the covered areas caramelize, so even distribution matters here.

Step 12: Brûlée the sugar. Hold the kitchen torch several inches away and start on a low flame, moving in slow circles over the sugar. Gradually bring the flame closer and increase the intensity as the sugar begins to melt and turn amber. You are looking for a deep, even caramel: mahogany at the edges, golden at the center, with no pale white patches remaining. The sugar will continue to darken for a few seconds after you pull the torch away, which is completely normal, so stop just before you think it is done.

Let the brûléed top rest for 60 to 90 seconds before serving so the caramel hardens into a proper shell that cracks cleanly under a spoon.

Step 13: Serve immediately. Once the caramel has set and you can tap it when you lightly press it with your finger, serve right away. The shell softens as it sits, and the contrast between the brittle caramel and the cold, silky custard underneath is the whole point.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

If the crackle of caramelized sugar and the silky, vanilla-flecked custard beneath it have you wanting more, browse my Custard Recipes or head right over to this delightful crème caramel!