Gingerbread Creme Brulee
If you’re craving a dessert that feels fancy but is secretly simple to make and tastes like Christmas in custard form, this Gingerbread Crème Brûlée is it. With warm cinnamon, spicy ginger, and a molasses undertone, it’s the kind of holiday treat that has just enough flair to make it Christmas party worthy.
The Perfect Gingerbread Creme Brulee Recipe You Will Make Every Year
As someone who went to culinary school, I’ve made my fair share of custards. The key here is gentle heat and patience, coupled with a gentle water bath. It sounds fussy, but really isn’t. If you’ve got ramekins (or mason jars, we’re not fancy here), a whisk, and a kitchen torch, you’ve got this.
Gingerbread-inspired flavors are one of our favorite ways to celebrate the holidays, and this Christmas Creme Brulee is as close to perfection as you can get. Silky smooth custard topped with a crackly sweet sugar crust means this make-ahead dessert should grace all of your holiday party tables this year (and every year).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe For Gingerbread Creme Brulee
- It tastes like the holidays in dessert form. All the warm spices you love in gingerbread are blended into a rich, creamy custard.
- Make-ahead friendly. You can prep the custards up to two days in advance and just brûlée right before serving. Perfect for entertaining!
- It’s easier than it looks. If you can whisk and pour, you can pull this off. The water bath sounds chef-y, but it’s just hot water in a pan.
- The crackly top is deeply satisfying. Grab a spoon and channel your inner Amélie. Cracking through that caramelized sugar never gets old!
- You don’t need specialty equipment. A kitchen torch is fun, but a broiler gets the job done just fine. No excuses.
Gingerbread Creme Brulee Recipe Ingredients
A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.
- heavy cream – We use heavy whipping cream for this recipe, and that’s it. Some people use a combination of cream and milk, but if we’re splurging and making creme brulee, we like it extra rich.
- granulated sugar – you’ll need this for both the custard and for sprinkling on top to torch.
- egg yolks – you’ll need the yolks of 4 large eggs for gingerbread creme brulee. Serious Eats has a bunch of ideas for what to do with leftover egg whites.
- vanilla extract – be sure to use a good quality extract for this Christmas creme brulee.
- molasses – it wouldn’t taste like gingerbread without this key ingredient.
- gingerbread spices – we’ll be using cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. If you happen to have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can use 2-1/2 teaspoons of that in place of the individual spices.
- kosher salt – just a pinch. The finished dessert won’t taste salty, but it will taste balanced.
- blowtorch – you can use a specially made kitchen blowtorch, or just one from the hardware store. We use the full size hardware store kind.
- ramekins or creme brulee dishes – you’ll need four 1/2-pint mason jars, or ceramic ramekins or dishes that are oven safe and will hold at least 6 ounces of liquid.
A Note About Ramekin Size
Size DOES matter for creme brulee ramekins. Not only will you need four 6 ounce ramekins (or half pint mason jars), but you’ll need to pay attention to the shape of them and how it will relate to the baking time for this recipe.
If your ramekins are wide and shallow, your custard may bake a little faster. If your ramekins are narrow and deep, you will likely need to bake your custard longer.
In the photos you see in this post, we’re using mason jars that would be considered narrow and deep. Our custard took about 39 minutes to bake until it was just set (the middles still trembled slightly, while the custard was set on the outer edges).
If you use wide and shallow ramekins, start at 25 minutes and continue baking, checking every 5 minutes until your custard is just set.
How To Make Homemade Gingerbread Creme Brulee
These are images of our Coconut Creme Brulee. The process is basically the same, so we’re using them to illustrate this recipe process. The color of your gingerbread creme brulee will be slightly different due to the different ingredients.
- PREP. Preheat the oven and set four 6-ounce ramekins or ½-pint mason jars in a large roasting pan. Boil a kettle of water while you’re at it.
- HEAT CREAM. In a small saucepan, warm the heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar over medium heat. Don’t boil it! Just let it start to bubble around the edges.
- WHISK. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, molasses, vanilla, the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, all the spices, and salt until smooth.
- TEMPER. Slowly ladle a bit of the hot cream into the yolk mixture while whisking. This step keeps the eggs from scrambling. Add a few more ladles, then whisk in the rest. Strain the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a large measuring cup (you’ll thank us later for the silky texture).
- BAKE. Divide the custard into the ramekins. Carefully pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until the custards are just set — look for a slight jiggle in the center.
- COOL AND CHILL. Use tongs to transfer the ramekins to a wire rack. Cool for 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to 2 days).
- TORCH. Right before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Use a torch to caramelize the tops until the sugar melts and turns golden brown. (You can use your broiler if you’re torch-less. Just watch closely!)
Gingerbread Creme Brulee Recipe Home Chef Tips
- Add an even layer of sugar across the surface of each custard. We sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar across the custard as evenly as possible and then tilt, shake, and shimmy the ramekin until it’s evened out.
- Keep the torch moving constantly so none of the areas burn.
- It is easiest to brown the sugar of the Christmas creme brulee in stages. Meaning, first torch the entire surface of the sugar until it is light golden brown, and then go back and keep torching until everything is medium golden brown. And then again until it’s all dark golden brown.
- As soon as you start to smell any sugar burning, stop torching immediately. Dark brown sugar is delicious, but burnt sugar is just bitter.
How To Store Leftover Gingerbread Creme Brulee
How Do You Store Leftovers?
Once the custards are baked and cooled, cover each ramekin tightly with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator. They’ll stay fresh for up to 2 days. Just hold off on adding the sugar topping until you’re ready to serve. Once you brûlée the tops, it’s best to enjoy them right away, as the caramel layer will start to soften in the fridge.
Can You Freeze This?
Yes, gingerbread creme brulee is able to be frozen!
To freeze, complete the recipe below through Step 5, but instead of transferring to the refrigerator, wrap and transfer to the freezer instead. It’s best if you put the wrapped ramekins in a freezer bag, as well. The custards should keep about 3 months in the freezer.
When ready to serve, thaw in the refrigerator for about 4 to 6 hours, and then sprinkle the tops of the Christmas creme brulee with sugar and torch just before serving.
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Gingerbread Creme Brulee
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Ingredients
For The Custard:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar divided
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of kosher salt
For the Topping:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F; heat large kettle of water to boiling. Place four 1/2-pint mason jars or 6-ounce ramekins (see Home Chef Tip below) in roasting pan.
- In small saucepan, heat cream and 3 tablespoons sugar over medium heat 6 to 7 minutes until cream just starts to bubble around edges of pan (do not bring to a full boil).
- Meanwhile, in large bowl, whisk egg yolks, molasses, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar until well combined. While whisking, use ladle to slowly add 3 ladlefuls of hot cream mixture to egg mixture. Gradually whisk in remaining cream mixture. Strain through fine mesh strainer into large liquid measuring cup.
- Divide custard mixture between jars; place roasting pan in oven. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up sides of the ramekins. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until custards are just set (they should tremble slightly in the middle, but be set on outer edges).
- Use tongs to carefully transfer ramekins to cooling rack; let stand 30 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or up to 2 days before serving.
- To serve, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Using blowtorch, caramelize top of each custard until sugar bubbles and turns brown (this can also be done under a broiler). Serve immediately.
Notes
- Home Chef Tip: If your ramekins are wide and shallow, your custard may bake a little faster. If your ramekins are narrow and deep, you will likely need to bake your custard longer.
- In the photos you see in this post, we’re using mason jars that would be considered narrow and deep. This custard took about 39 minutes to bake until it was just set (the middles still trembled slightly, while the custard was set on the outer edges).
- If you use wide and shallow ramekins, start at 25 minutes and continue baking, checking every 5 minutes until your custard is just set.
