Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Crème Brûlée
A silky vanilla custard under a brittle sheet of torched caramel, the crack of the spoon half the pleasure.
French · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 45 min
~613 cal · 11g protein · 34g carbs · 49g fat · 0g fiber · 34g sugars · 30g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Crème brûlée, burnt cream, is one of the great restaurant desserts, a rich baked custard whose surface is crusted with a thin, glassy layer of caramelised sugar. France, England, and Spain all claim a version, but the French name is the one the world uses.
The magic is in the contrast: a cold, barely set custard fragrant with vanilla beneath a hot, brittle top that shatters under the spoon. It is made from little more than cream, yolks, sugar, and vanilla, but demands a gentle hand so the custard stays silk-smooth.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean or extract
4 tsp sugar, for the tops
Instructions
1
Warm the cream with the vanilla, then let it infuse off the heat.
2
Whisk the yolks with the sugar, then slowly pour in the warm cream, whisking, and strain.
3
Divide among ramekins and bake in a water bath at 300F (150C) until just set with a wobble, about 40 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Pull them while the centres still jiggle. They firm as they chill, and a custard baked until fully set turns grainy.
4
Chill thoroughly, then sprinkle each with a thin layer of sugar and torch or grill until the caramel hardens.
French patisserie tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Burgundy. Dijon mustard is a style rather than a protected origin, and most of the seed behind it is imported now. The appellation that does exist is moutarde de Bourgogne, which requires local seed and Burgundy white wine. Escargots de Bourgogne are Helix pomatia, cooked and put back into the shell under garlic and parsley butter.
🗺️
France. Under the technique sits a country of regional larders that barely resemble each other: butter and cider in Normandy and Brittany, duck fat and confit through the southwest, olive oil and garlic along the Mediterranean, and choucroute with Riesling in Alsace. Which fat a French recipe reaches for usually tells you which corner of the country it comes from.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from France
Ratatouille NiçoiseSummer vegetables stewed separately then united, Provence's answer to a garden at peak harvest.
Galettes de Sarrasin (Buckwheat Crêpes)Lacy, nutty buckwheat crêpes folded around ham, cheese, and an egg, the "complète" of every Breton crêperie.
Tarte Flambée (Flammekueche)Paper-thin dough blistered under crème fraîche, onions, and lardons, Alsace’s answer to pizza, out of the oven in minutes.
Browse all France recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Grill or barbecue, Whisk.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a France meal
Bœuf BourguignonDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Crème Brûlée?
A silky vanilla custard under a brittle sheet of torched caramel, the crack of the spoon half the pleasure.
Where does Crème Brûlée come from?
Crème Brûlée is a French dish from Burgundy, France.
Can Crème Brûlée be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Crème Brûlée recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Crème Brûlée safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Crème Brûlée take to make?
About 65 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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