Vanilla Creme Brulee Recipe

Vanilla Creme Brulee is a make-ahead restaurant-style dessert with rich and creamy custard topped with crunchy sugar crust. This post will explain which ramekins to buy and how to torch it perfectly.

Vanilla Creme Brûlée is timeless!

Sometimes, you just can’t improve on a classic. Once in awhile, I love a modern restaurant dessert with unexpected ingredients and preparations.

But truly, is there anything better than an amazing dish of creme brulee? The rich custard paired with the crackly torched sugar top is irresistible, in my opinion.

What’s funny is that I’ve published more “creative” creme brulee flavors, but oddly, I’ve never published the most traditional version ever. The kind I was taught to make my first week of culinary school.

So today, I’m sharing my perfect recipe for vanilla bean creme brulee. It will never go out of style!

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee Ingredients

• heavy cream – I use heavy whipping cream for this recipe, and that’s it. Some people use a combination of cream and milk, but if I’m splurging and making creme brulee, I 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 6 large eggs for vanilla creme brulee. Serious Eats has a bunch of ideas for what to do with leftover egg whites.
• vanilla bean – you’ll be using one whole vanilla bean for this vanilla bean creme brulee recipe.
• kosher salt – just a pinch. The finished dessert won’t taste salty, but it will taste balanced.
• fresh fruit and mint to garnish – this is optional, but I love including a few fresh berries and sometimes a small sprig of mint on top when serving creme brulee.
• blowtorch – you can use a specially made kitchen blowtorch [affiliate link], or just one from the hardware store. I use the full size hardware store kind.
• ramekins or creme brulee dishes – you’ll need six ceramic ramekins or dishes that are oven safe and will hold at least 5 ounces of liquid for this vanilla creme brulee recipe.

How to make Vanilla Creme Brulee

1. PREP. Preheat the oven and bring a tea kettle of water to a boil. You will need a roasting pan or a very large baking pan with high sides. Six 6-ounce ramekins need to fit into the bottom of the pan in an even layer.
2. STEEP. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, 6 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla bean seeds you scraped out of the pod (see the “How to work with vanilla bean” section below), along with the pod itself. Heat this over medium heat until the cream just starts to bubble around the edges of the pan. Watch it carefully, because you don’t want the mixture to come to a full rolling boil.
3. EGGS. While you’re keeping one eye on the cream, grab a large bowl and whisk together the egg yolks, salt and remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar.
4. TEMPER. Once the cream mixture starts to bubble, slowly add 4 ladles of the hot cream mixture to the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Then, whisk the remaining cream into the egg mixture while continuing to whisk.
5. STRAIN. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer set over a large liquid measuring cup. Don’t skip this step! It’s important to ensure the smoothest, creamiest final product.
6. DIVIDE. Use the ladle to divide the strained cream mixture between the ramekins in the roasting pan.
7. WATER BATH. Place the roasting pan with the filled ramekins onto a pulled-out oven rack. Carefully pour boiling water from the kettle into the pan around the ramekins. Be sure not to get any water into any of the custards, but you want to fill the pan with enough water so that the hot water comes up to the halfway point of each ramekin. This hot water bath will allow the custard to cook evenly without cracking.
8. BAKE. Carefully push the oven rack with the roasting pan on it fully into the oven. Bake the custards until they are JUST set. Gently shake one of the ramekins, and the custard should tremble slightly in the middle but be set on the outer edges. See “A note about ramekin size” section below for more information regarding exact baking time.
9. COOL. Use tongs or a pancake turner to carefully transfer the ramekins to a cooling rack and let them cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then, cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 2 days before serving.
10. TORCH. To serve, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Using a blowtorch, caramelize the top of each custard until the sugar bubbles and turns brown (this can also be done under a broiler). Top with berries and mint and serve immediately.

A note about ramekin size

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Size DOES matter for creme brulee ramekins. Not only will you need six 6 ounce ramekins, 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, I’m using wide and shallow ramekins, and my custard took about 38 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 narrow and deep ramekins, start at 40 minutes and continue baking, checking every 5 minutes until your custard is just set. It could take up to an hour.

How to work with vanilla bean

First, carefully use a sharp paring knife to split the vanilla bean right down the middle, lengthwise. Then, use the tip of the paring knife to scrape as many vanilla bean seeds out of each side of the pod as possible.

These seeds will go into the cream mixture on the stove as you start the vanilla creme brulee custard. You will also throw the two pod halves into the cream mixture, too, to coax out any remaining vanilla beans and lend the custard even more vanilla flavor.

The pod will be strained out in the final step of making the custard.

This vanilla crème brûlée recipe makes six servings.

But, if you have a family of three like me, or perhaps you’re doing a date night at home and need a sweet treat, it’s super easy to make a half batch to make three servings.

If there’s just two of you, you’ll have one extra to share with a neighbor, or split for dessert tomorrow. I’ve done the math for you for a half batch of the custard:

• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 4-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• Pinch of kosher salt

And then you’ll need an additional 3 tablespoons granulated sugar for topping and torching this vanilla bean brulee recipe.

How to store this Vanilla Creme Brulee Recipe

How long can you keep Vanilla Crème Brûlée in the fridge?

When tightly wrapped with plastic wrap, creme brulee can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days before torching and serving. Creme brulee is best stored in the refrigerator after baking, but before torching.

Can Vanilla Crème Brûlée be frozen?

Or, if you want to make all 6 but can’t eat them right away, vanilla bean 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 vanilla creme brulee with sugar and torch just before serving.