01 of 09
Before You Fire up the Torch
Crème brûlée is an elegant French dessert with a creamy, often vanilla-flavored base and a crunchy, caramelized sugar topping.
Once you've got the crème part down, it's time for thebrûlée—which means "burnt" in French. You'll be using abutane culinary torch. Familiarize yourself with how your particular model works and be sure to follow the safety instructions. You're playing with real fire here!
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02 of 09
Bring Crème Brûlées to Room Temperature
Your completed custardsshould have chilled for at least four hours, but overnight is best. About 20 minutes before you want to caramelize them, take them out of the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature.
03 of 09
Sprinkle Crème Brûlées with Sugar
If any moisture condensation has formed on thetop, gently dab it away with a paper towel, being careful not to dent the custard.
Sprinkle with granulated white sugar. Be generous—you'll pour off the excess in a moment. Cover the whole surfaceand swirl the ramekins to distribute the sugar evenly.
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04 of 09
Remove Excess Sugar
After coating the top of the custard with sugar, pour off the excess. If you're making more than onecrèmebrûlée,dump the excess sugar into the next custard and repeat.Add new sugar with a spoon as needed until all the crèmebrûlées are coatedbut there are no loose granules remaining.
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Fire up the Torch
Now the fun starts: It's time to use your torch! They all work differently, so follow the instructions for lighting your torch carefully and adjust the length of the flame to medium.
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06 of 09
Lightly Torch the Sugar
Hold the torch a good distance away from the crèmebrûlée and slowly move it closer while rotating the flame. Keep the flame constantly in motion to keep from burning one area. Once it gets close enough, you'll see the sugar start to liquefy and form little droplets on the surface.
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07 of 09
Keep the Flame Moving
As you continue cooking the sugar, you'll see little wisps of smoke puff up as the sugar begins to turn caramel-colored. You'll also smell the delicious aroma of cooked sugar, kind of like cotton candy.
Keep the flame moving so that it isn't focused on any one spot for too long. Pull the torch away if the sugar smokes excessively. Be sure to get the sugar along the edges of the ramekin as well as in the middle.
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08 of 09
Form a Glaze
You'll be seeing a nice, caramel-colored glaze form on top of the crèmebrûlée. It's a bit tricky knowing exactly when to stop, but it's better to stop too soon than too late. If necessary, you can always fill in any underdone spots in a minute, once the sugar cools down a bit.
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09 of 09
The Finished Crème Brûlée
When you're finished you'll have a hard, glass-like glaze of caramelized sugar on top. Pop the crèmebrûlées back into the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so before serving them, just to re-chill the custardafter it's been heated by the torch.
You can serve the crèmebrûlées just as they are and they'll be absolutely delicious. A few fresh berries and a dusting of powdered sugar is also a nice, elegant touch.
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FAQs
How to Caramelize Crème Brûlée: Step-By-Step Tutorial? ›
How to Make Crème Brûlée with a Torch. Hold the creme brulee torch torch about 4 to 5 inches from the sugar, and maintain a constant, slow, side to side motion. You should see the sugar melt first. If there is a patch of raw sugar, continue to torch it from side to side until it melts.
How to properly torch creme brulee? ›How to Make Crème Brûlée with a Torch. Hold the creme brulee torch torch about 4 to 5 inches from the sugar, and maintain a constant, slow, side to side motion. You should see the sugar melt first. If there is a patch of raw sugar, continue to torch it from side to side until it melts.
Can you use a regular lighter to caramelize creme brulee? ›Not everyone has a brûlée torch, but nearly everyone has a candle or grill lighter. This may or may not be practical, though; mine took forever to melt even a small amount of sugar. I think that this is a good option only when you have a small surface area, a thin layer of sugar, and a pretty powerful lighter.
Do you have to chill creme brulee before torching? ›For Your Information
Creme Brûlée bakes for about an hour, but will need to chill for at least 30 minutes before being brûléed. The custard will firm up considerably in the refrigerator, so take it out of the oven when it has set into that very-jiggly-not-liquid consistency.
Pop the crème brûlées back into the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so before serving them, just to re-chill the custard after it's been heated by the torch. You can serve the crème brûlées just as they are and they'll be absolutely delicious.
Why is my creme brulee runny after torching? ›If your creme brulee comes out runny, I'm sorry to say but it's most likely because it's undercooked. You want to pull the custards from the oven when they're set around the edges, but still just a little bit wobbly towards the centers.
Can you over torch crème brûlée? ›Keep the flame on the blowtorch moving because lingering in one spot too long will cause the sugar to burn.
Can I use brown sugar on top of crème brûlée? ›A wonderful baked creme brulee. Use white or brown sugar for the top. If you do not have a kitchen torch, a regular propane torch can be used or simply place the custard under the broiler for a few minutes.
How do you caramelize crème brûlée? ›Our answer. Nigella's Creme Brulee (from Nigella Bites and on the Nigella website) suggests using a blowtorch to melt the sugar topping as it provides a concentrated blast of heat close to the sugar, causing it to caramelize quickly without causing the custard underneath to warm up.
Is turbinado or white sugar better for crème brûlée? ›For the caramelized sugar crust, we recommend turbinado or Demerara sugar. Regular granulated sugar will work, too, but use only 1 scant teaspoon on each ramekin or 1 teaspoon on each shallow fluted dish.
Why is my crème brûlée not crispy? ›
It could be your sugar. I find sugar in the raw to be the easiest and most even burning sugar for creme brûlée. You could also combine equal parts brown sugar and white sugar. When burning the sugar make sure to keep moving the torch evenly across the sugar.
Can you caramelize sugar in the oven? ›On the stovetop or under a blowtorch, sugar races through the caramelization process so fast, it liquefies in an instant. But in the gentle heat of a 300°F (149°C) oven, the process is drawn out, revealing myriad stages of caramelization in a crystalline state.
Can I use brown sugar on top of creme brulee? ›A wonderful baked creme brulee. Use white or brown sugar for the top. If you do not have a kitchen torch, a regular propane torch can be used or simply place the custard under the broiler for a few minutes.
How to caramelize brown sugar? ›At it's most simple, it's just a matter of putting sugar into a pan and applying heat until you reach the stage of caramelization that you want. An alternative method is to dissolve the sugar in water, then heat the solution until the water evaporates and the sugar begins to caramelize.