Crème Brûlée
Silky vanilla custard under a thin, crackling caramelized top. Bake it a day ahead, then torch just before serving for that satisfying tap of the spoon.
Nutrition per serving
1 ramekin (4 oz)- Net carbs
- 3g
- Calories
- 331kcal
- Protein
- 4.9g
- Fat
- 33g
- Total carbs
- 15 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Chocolate: Unsweetened chocolate melted into the hot cream makes a dense, pot-de-crème-style chocolate custard under the crackly top.
- Whisk the chopped chocolate into the hot cream off the heat until completely smooth before tempering the yolks. Bake 30–35 minutes; chocolate custard sets a little faster.
Coconut (dairy-free): Full-fat coconut milk replaces the cream for a dairy-free custard with a gentle tropical flavor.
- Heat the coconut milk with the vanilla as you would the cream. Coconut custard is a little softer, so bake until the centers barely jiggle and chill at least 6 hours.
Pumpkin spice: Pumpkin purée and warm spices whisked into the custard — a lighter, more elegant alternative to pumpkin pie.
- Whisk the pumpkin and spice into the yolks before adding the hot cream, then strain as usual (press the pumpkin through the sieve). Bake 35–45 minutes.
- Custard
- Brûlée topping
- Custard
- Brûlée topping
- Also add
- Custard
- Brûlée topping
- Custard
- Brûlée topping
- Also add
Estimated cost $8.24 for 6 servings ($1.37 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and bring a kettle of water to a boil. Set six 4-oz (120 ml) ramekins in a roasting pan lined with a folded kitchen towel (it stops them sliding).
-
Warm the cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming, with small bubbles at the edge, about 175°F (80°C). Do not let it boil.
-
Whisk the egg yolks, allulose and salt in a bowl for about 1 minute, until smooth and slightly paler. Pour in the hot cream in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly, so the yolks warm gently without scrambling.
-
Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a jug and skim off any bubbles. Divide among the ramekins.
-
Set the pan in the oven and pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake 30–40 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers jiggle like gelatin when nudged; the middle should read 170–175°F (77–80°C), which fully cooks the yolks.
-
Lift the ramekins out of the water and cool 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.
-
To serve, blot any moisture from the surface with a paper towel. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of granulated erythritol evenly over each custard and caramelize with a kitchen torch, held about 2 inches (5 cm) away and kept moving, until melted and golden in spots. Let the top harden for 2 minutes.
Tips for success
-
Allulose keeps the custard silky with no recrystallizing. It browns a little faster than sugar, so do not be surprised by a faint ivory color. - Erythritol melts into a thin, crackly glass but browns less than sugar. For a deeper amber top, mix ¼ teaspoon of allulose into each teaspoon of erythritol and torch gently, as allulose scorches easily.
- No torch? Chill the topped ramekins well and set them on a sheet 3–4 inches (8–10 cm) under a hot broiler for 1–3 minutes, watching constantly.
Nice to have, not needed
- A kitchen torch gives the best crackly top — a very hot broiler works if you watch it closely.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Serve cold; torch the topping just before serving.
Prep tip: Bake the custards up to 3 days ahead and keep them covered; caramelize the tops at the last minute.
Refrigerate the baked, untopped custards covered up to 3 days. Torch just before serving; the crust softens after about an hour.
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosChocolate
FlavorUnsweetened chocolate melted into the hot cream makes a dense, pot-de-crème-style chocolate custard under the crackly top.
- + 2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
4.1 g net · 391 kcal · 6.3 g protein · 38 g fat · ≈$1.69 per serving (+1.1 g net carbs vs the original)
Coconut (dairy-free)
DietFull-fat coconut milk replaces the cream for a dairy-free custard with a gentle tropical flavor.
- heavy cream → full-fat canned coconut milk
3 g net · 219 kcal · 4.3 g protein · 22 g fat · ≈$1.12 per serving (same net carbs as the original)
Pumpkin spice
FlavorPumpkin purée and warm spices whisked into the custard — a lighter, more elegant alternative to pumpkin pie.
- + ½ cup pumpkin purée
- + 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
4.3 g net · 340 kcal · 5.2 g protein · 33 g fat · ≈$1.53 per serving (+1.3 g net carbs vs the original)
Save it for later
Pin this recipe to your keto board so it’s there when you plan next week.
Save to Pinterest
