Coffee Crème Brûlée
A smooth and creamy coffee custard topped with a crunchy caramelized sugar topping.
Servings: 4 creme brûlées
Calories: 504kcal
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- 4 ramekins
- 9x13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup coffee brewed and cooled; see notes for cold brew and espresso options
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a saucepan, combine cream and coffee over low heat until just hot, but not boiling, stirring frequently.1 ½ cups heavy cream, ¼ cup coffee
- In a small bowl, beat the yolks and brown sugar until light.5 egg yolks, ½ cup brown sugar
- Stir about a quarter of the cream mixture into the egg mixture, then pour the egg mixture into the cream mixture and stir.
- Place 4 ramekins in a baking dish and divide the creme brûlée mixture evenly among the ramekins.
- Pour boiling water into the baking dish until water is about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Be careful not to get water in the ramekins.
- Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until centers are barely set.
- Remove from oven and carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath. Cool for 15-30 minutes, then refrigerate for several hours.
- Once the custard has set, sprinkle the top of each custard with about half a tablespoon of granulated sugar, and torch until the sugar is browned.2 tablespoons white sugar
- Crack and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Remove the cream from the heat when you see steam rising from the surface of the cream. Do not let the cream boil or burn.
The hot mixture is added to the egg yolks before adding the egg yolks to the hot mixture to heat the egg yolks slowly. If they get too hot too fast the egg yolks will cook, so the gradual heating prevents that.
Avoid getting water into the crème brûlée when pouring in the water bath. And remember that the bottom of the baking dish will be hot so use a trivet or dish towel under the baking dish to protect your countertops!
Cool the crème brûlées before refrigerating. A hot ramekin may shatter if it cools down too quickly.
Don't hold the torch in one spot for too long when brûléeing the sugar or it will burn.
Variations:
Cold Brew Crème Brûlée - Replace coffee with ¼ cup of cold brew or cold brew concentrate, depending on how strong of a coffee flavor you'd like.
Espresso Crème Brûlée - Replace coffee with ¼ cup brewed and cooled espresso, or dissolve one to two teaspoons of instant espresso powder into ¼ cup of hot water, and then let it cool and use in place of coffee.
Nutrition
Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 344mg | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 153mg | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 1636IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 1mg
