Rich and creamy with a crunchy top of burnt sugar, creme brûlée is a classic dessert that is easy to make at home. With four simple ingredients, follow my tips and tools to make them with my blender method. Easy mini creme brûlée is the perfect little treat after a holiday dinner. I've mades hundreds of these for catered events and they are always a hit.
Easy Mini Creme Brûlée
It was catering dinner parties that lead me to develop a blender method to make mini vanilla bean creme brûlée. Using the blender makes it easier and faster to make from a few to dozens. My recipe makes 12-13 two-ounce creme brulees. The mini size allows guests to satisfy their sweet tooth with a few sweet bites without overdoing following a big meal. No dessert guilt!
Creme Brulee Ingredients
To make creme brûlée you'll need heavy cream, large egg yolks, natural sugar, and vanilla bean paste. We minimize added sugar in our diet but this is one time you need to use sugar. You could probably use half sugar and some monk fruit to reduce sugar, but I have not tested it this way. Sometimes only the real thing will do.
Let's Talk Vanilla: Really Good Vanilla
For vanilla, I prefer vanilla bean paste to extract because it is more concentrated and more heat resistant than extract. My favorite is Tahitian Gold. It provides bold, rich vanilla flavor and you get beautiful vanilla bean flecks in your custard. They sell to commercial culinary businesses and finally offer smaller sizes for home chefs! Plus they offer many wonderful vanilla products. If you love vanilla (and I do), check out their page.
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How to Make Creme Brûlée: Blender Method
Add all of the ingredients to the blender and blend on the lowest speed for one minute, long enough for the sugar to dissolve. Do not blend on high speed as you will aerate the liquid custard, develop unwanted bubbles and the texture will not be right.
After blending, allow it to stand for a few minutes to allow bubbles to subside. After filling the ramekins, you can pop any large bubbles with a toothpick, but don't worry too much. Any small bubbles are covered with coarse sugar and burned with a blow torch before serving, hiding imperfections.
Tips and Tools For Making Creme Brulee
- Separate your eggs while they are cold and allow them to stand at room temperature for about an hour to get the chill off. Cold eggs separate easier than warm.
- Two-ounce ramekins are available at cooking stores and online. Sizes vary, so you may get 13 versus 12.
- Bake in a large flat-bottomed baking pan such as a roasting pan so the ramekins sit totally flat.
- Place a dish cloth in the bottom of the pan to stabilize them. I cut up an old dish towel.
- Skip the slow mini blow torches and buy a blow torch top and butane can. Faster, more efficient and cheaper.
Mini vanilla bean creme brûlée can be made a day ahead, covered and refrigerated. Coat the tops with turbinado sugar and torch before serving. Aim for a deep golden brown color. The sugar will crisp as it cools.
For another tasy creme brulee version, try this recipe with orange and ginger! And for another classic dessert try this cheesecake (pressure cooker).
📖 Recipe
Easy Vanilla Creme Brulee
Equipment
- 12-13 2-ounce porcelain ramekins
- a large flat bottom roasting pan
- blow torch (see post)
- digital kitchen thermometer
- funnel
Ingredients
Mini Vanilla Bean Creme Brûlée
- 3 cups heavy cream not whipping cream
- 9 extra large egg yolks reserve whites for other use
- 7 tablespoons natural sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 6 tablespoons turbinado or demerara sugar for top
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Instructions
- Prepare your baking pan. Set up a large flat bottomed roasting pan or baking dish large enough to hold 12-13 ramekins without crowding. Place a dishtowel in the bottom of the pan. Arrange ramekins so they do not crowd and so they sit totally flat. Start a kettle of water to boil. Pre-heat an oven to 325°F with the rack in the center.
- Make the custard. Place the yolks, cream and vanilla in a blender. Blend on lowest speed for one minute. Allow blender container to stand for a 1-2 minutes for most bubbles to dissipate. Slowly pour the custard into the ramekins filling them to the very top. Pop large bubbles with a toothpick if desired.
- Bake the custards. Using a funnel so you do not splash water into the ramekins, slowly pour boiling water into the pan to come half way up the sides of the ramekins. With a steady hand, carefully move the pan to the oven. Bake creme custards for approximately 37 minutes. Timing will depend on your oven as ovens vary. Bake until a digital thermometer reads 175°F and the center of the custards is almost set with just a tiny bit of jiggle.
- Cool the custards. Remove pan from oven and remove the ramekins to a wire cooling rack. Allow custards to cool completely then cover and refrigerate to completely chill and set, 4 hours or overnight.
- To serve. Ready a blow torch. Add approximately 1 ½ teaspoons of coarse sugar to the top of a custard, tilting and tapping to cover. Pour excess on the next custard and repeat until all custards are topped with sugar. Burn with a blow torch until deep golden brown. Allow to cool, then serve. Berries on the side are nice.
Notes
- You can fold a dishtowel or cut up an old one to the size of the pan, just be sure the ramekins sit completely flat.
- To easily move hot ramekins to the cooling rack, use silicone-tipped tongs or steel tongs wound with rubber bands for stability.
- For blow torch suggestions, see post.
Steph fielss says
Hi and thanks for the recipe. Should I spray the ramekins? With nonstick spray? Thanks!
Sally Cameron says
Hi Steph. Good question. No need to spray them!
James Boardman says
Nice recipe!!
Two things: I don't get the dish towel in the pan, there is no need.
Fill the pan with water with its resting on the oven rack so you don't have to carry it with water.
Sally Cameron says
Hi James. The dish towel stabilizes the ramekins, and I do recommend it but you can do whatever you prefer. I think of it like insurance. Same thing with the hot water. Either on the stove top and lift it down carefully or while on an oven rack...just be sure when you push the rack it not to splash water into the ramekins. And thanks for the compliment 😉
Rich says
I agree with you. I've never heard of a dish towel in the pan. I do the same with the water also. They comes out perfect every time.
Sally Cameron says
Hi Rich, I've used the dish towel trick forever. It gives stability so the ramekins don't slide around and slosh water into the custard. You're right, water baths are great for even gentle baking. Another thing you could use is a silpat mat.
Abby says
If I choose to use vanilla extract in place of paste, will this alter how the creme turns out?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Abby, the extract should work fine.
Merlinda says
Why the dish towel in pan? How much difference between turbinado and regular sugar for tops?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Merlinda, the dish towel stabilizes the ramekins so they do not slide and slosh in the pan, either when you put the pan in the oven or remove them after baking. Hope that makes sense. On the sugar, either is fine. Turbinado has slightly finer crystals and is usually less sticky. Demerara has a pale gold color and it is slightly sticky. They are produced by different methods. Turbinado is spun with turbines. Really interesting if you're a food geek;). There is a good description of sugars here https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-muscovado-145157
Madonna - MakeMineLemon says
Next week I am making an angel food cake for a birthday. I have been trying to decide what to make with the yolks. Thanks for providing an answer. 🙂
(Maybe I should ask for a blowtorch for Christmas.
Sally Cameron says
Hi Madonna. Oh my favorite cake! My mom used to bake me an angel food every year for my birthday (with fresh orange frosting). Those days are long gone. Since we rarely eat cake, I have not bothered to create a GF angle food cake recipe but I am sure with today's great alternative flours recipes are out there. And yes! Get a real torch for Christmas. They are not that much!