Vanilla Crème Brûlée
Updated Dec. 28, 2025
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups heavy or light cream (or half-and-half)
- 1vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛teaspoon salt
- 5egg yolks
- ½cup granulated sugar, plus more for topping
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
503 calories; 41 grams fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 29 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 122 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a saucepan, combine cream, vanilla bean and salt; cook over low heat just until hot. Let sit for a few minutes, then discard vanilla bean. (If using vanilla extract, add it now.)
- Step 2
In a bowl, beat yolks and sugar together until light. Stir about a quarter of the vanilla cream into this mixture, then pour sugar-egg mixture into cream and stir. Pour into four 6-ounce ramekins and place ramekins in a baking dish; fill dish with boiling water halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Step 3
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until centers are barely set. Cool completely. Refrigerate for several hours and up to a couple of days.
- Step 4
When ready to serve, top each custard with about a teaspoon of sugar in a thin layer.
- Step 5
Place ramekins in a broiler 2 to 3 inches from heat source. Turn on broiler. Cook until sugar melts and browns or even blackens a bit, about 5 minutes. Serve within 2 hours.
Private Notes
Comments
Another way to brown is the sugar is to use a metal spoon, heat it up for a minute on the stove and lightly touch the sugar. Do it gently and a couple of times and it gets brown and crispy!
I absolutely love this recipe and often just make it for 2 :) Here are the measurements for the recipe divided by 2.5 to get to 2 egg yolks: 3/4 cups of heavy cream 1 teaspoon of vanilla (I keep it at 1 for the flavor) 2 egg yolks 1/2 cup of sugar Enjoy!
Suggestion: Warm everything up first. Set the eggs and cream out so they warm up to room temperature. Fill the baking dish with hot tap water and use that to warm up your ramekins while you assemble the mixture. Then, once the oven's preheated and the water's boiling in a pot on the stove, remove the ramekins from the baking dish and toss the warm water, fill the ramekins with the mixture, pour the boiling water and put it in the oven.
An easy and forgiving recipe that will truly shine for your guests. The timing is also forgiving, but creme brûlée should be cooked to only 170 - 175 degrees, and it will still look very wobbly. Trust Mark, he knows what he's doing!
should have done lower temperature, especially with convection and check after 30min. i did 325 for 35min and they were still jiggly in the center but slightly brown on top and also developed air bubbles
This is one of my favourite recipes. My only modifications or additions are doubling the vanilla beans, making sure my heated cream doesn’t exceed 170F at the hottest point on the floor of the sauce pot, and then oven cooking the mixture longer than the recommended time (maybe the high elevation of my hometown?). I usually cook it until one or two ramekins are just beginning to brown. This can be around 50 minutes. The past dozen batches have been great, but I messed up more than a few batches before adopting the latter two modifications.