Easy recipe for Crème Brûlée

The first printed recipe for a dessert called crème brûlée, a sweet custard of egg yolks and milk with a burnt sugar crust, is from the 1691 edition of the French cookbook Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois by François Massialot, a chef de cuisine at the Palace of Versailles. A dish fit for royalty, it’s now a firm favourite in France. We love this easy recipe for Crème Brûlée from the renowned patisserie school of Ferrandi in France.

Serves 4

Active time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Freezing time: 20 minutes
Storage: Up to 3 days in the refrigerator

Equipment

4 × 4 ¾-in. (12-cm) ramekins
Kitchen torch

Ingredients

1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream, 35% butterfat
3 tbsp (1.75 oz./50 g) egg yolk (about 3 yolks)
3 tbsp (1.5 oz./40 g) sugar
Vanilla pod
3 ½ tbsp (1 oz./25 g) powdered whole milk
Brown sugar, for the caramel crust

Method

Preheat the oven to 225°F (100°C/Gas mark ¼). Using the first four ingredients, prepare a custard by combining the milk with half the sugar in a saucepan. Scrape in the vanilla seeds, place over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar in a mixing bowl until creamy and slightly thickened.

When the milk comes to a boil, pour a little into the yolk mixture, whisking until combined. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Stir constantly with a spatula until the temperature of the custard reaches 180°F (83°C). Draw a line with your finger through the custard on the spatula and if the line stays visible the custard is ready.

When the custard is cooked, strain it through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl. Stand the bowl of custard in a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and water and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming on top, before using.

Pour into the ramekins and bake for 50 minutes.

Cool and then place the creams in the freezer for 20 minutes, so they are well chilled before caramelizing the tops. Sprinkle a layer of brown sugar on top of each cream.

Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch.

CHEFS’ NOTES

White sugar can be used in place of brown to caramelize the tops of the creams.

After caramelizing, chill the creams in the refrigerator so the topping firms up and it becomes crisp, while the cream underneath stays cool and silky smooth.

Extracted from French Pâtisserie: Master Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts by Ferrandi (Published by Flammarion, £45). Photography © Rina Nurra 2017.