Best Creme Brulee Recipe – French Caramelized Dessert

This is the best creme brulee recipe – or burnt cream – which is originally from France but we love this classic dessert in Germany too. Here is a German style recipe for you. The special thing about this dessert is, that it will be caramelized in the oven. This creates a sweet and crunchy crust on top. Delicious together with the pudding below.
There are special creme brulee sets available which include the forms and a torch for caramelizing. Happy Cooking!

Ingredients Best Creme Brulee Recipe

for 4 bigger forms or 6 smaller ones
400 ml heavy cream
140 ml milk
85 g sugar, brown or white (or less, depending how sweet it should be)
5 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, 1 tsp liquid vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
very fine sugar for caramelizing

Cooking Instructions Best Creme Brulee

Separate eggs. Mix heavy cream, egg yolks and milk first (important!).
Split vanilla bean and scratch out the seeds.
Add all remaining ingredients to cream and mix very well with a whisk, let sit for 30 min.
Fill the cream in ramekin or creme brulee forms (fire proof).
Pre-heat oven to 300 F.
Place the forms in a roasting pan, fill it with boiling hot water. Place on medium height rack in the oven.
Let cook for 55 min. The surface will become bubbly and somewhat brown but this is ok.
Let forms cool off in the fridge for at least 2 hours or over night.
Place the cream into the freezer for some minutes before you caramelize it.
For caramelizing add 1 tbsp of very fine white sugar on top of each form (brown sugar would burn too fast!). By using a gas torch glaze the sugar slowly and evenly until you get a smooth, shiny layer.
If you don’t want to use a torch you can use the broiler but you have to be very careful that it won’t burn. Place the forms with a very cold cream in the oven on the highest rack. Turn on broiler to high. Broil for five to 10 minutes, but please, watch it very very carefully and rotate the forms. They have to broil evenly. Make sure to wear fire proof gloves when touching them and to protect the hands from the broiler grill!