This recipe is part of theEpicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other dessert classics, check out the videos.
Ingredients
Makes 6 (4-ounce) servings
Step 1
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and arrange the ramekins on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Step 2
2. In a medium saucepan over moderately high heat, combine the heavy cream, 1/2 of the sugar, the vanilla bean seeds and pod, and the salt and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Step 3
3. While the cream is heating, combine the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and whisk to combine. Gradually add about 1/3 of the hot cream to the yolks, whisking constantly, then add the remaining hot cream and stir to fully combine. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container. Carefully ladle or pour the custard into the ramekins, filling them to the rim.
Step 4
4. Place the baking sheet in the oven and carefully pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the edges have set but the center still jiggles when the ramekin is gently shaken, 20 to 25 minutes.
Step 5
5. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool on a rack for 30 minutes then wrap individually and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Step 6
6. To serve: Sprinkle the top of each custard with a thin even layer of sanding sugar, using about 1 tablespoon per ramekin. Use a kitchen blowtorch or the broiler to evenly melt and caramelize the sugar. Serve immediately.
Leave a Review
Reviews (29)
Back to TopI love this recipe and have used it since it was first published on the free Epicurious site. It is 5he one recipe that made me finally shell out for a subscription. One thing I hate are sites that start out free and then decide to start charging. When I find a recipe as good or better I will look to cancel my subscription. That said, this is a great, foolproof recipe which is why I have returned to it time after time. I usually make it for Christmas dinner as well as other celebrations.one tip they don’t mention here is that when adding the hot cream you need to temper the eggs so I add a ladleful of cream mixture at a time for several ladlefuls and then add in bigger increments. Enjoy.
Anonymous
Toronto, ON
12/24/2022
New convection oven does a good job. Be sure the water you bake ramekins in is right from the kettle. I used to think vanilla was a blank slate, now I think Crème Brule, yum.
Don VE3REO
Brampton, Ontario
9/22/2017
I have made this a few times, always added 5 extra minutes. With my new convection oven, I reduced the cooking temperature 25 degrees as they advise. Cooking time was right on the 25 minutes. Once again, perfect results. On top of the half real vanilla bean, I added a teaspoon of regular vanilla for a fuller vanilla taste. Yum!
Don VE3REO
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
8/30/2017
Absolutely perfect. Used 4 oz ramekins and it was perfect amount and cooked in 25 minutes. Also used vanilla extract instead of the bean and flavor was pretty good. Will try the bean next time.
mshepherd
Ft Lauderdale, FL
1/15/2017
I agree this is delicious, I made it in 4 larger dishes instead of 6 so it took a bit longer & I used sugar in the raw w/ a culinary torch & it was amazing!
DDMenard
Massachusetts
1/11/2017
Very tasty--I had to cook mine for an extra 7 minutes to get the right level of firmness to jiggle. I would cut back the sugar on top by a third as the crust was a bit thick for my taste, but it crisped up lovely under the broiler, and the custard was nice and delicate.
sitagaki
8/26/2016
So easy to make and a total hit. I added some berries on top and made double what the recipe said. I found that I needed to cook for a lot longer than was estimated even with me doubling the time for the added amount. I will have to make this again and I know everyone can't wait!
Anonymous
Fort Lauderdale, FL
5/9/2016
Don't get thrown with the unfamiliar 'sanding sugar' - it is simply the coarser crystal sugar, the type often used to decorate cookies. It doesn't melt as easily as regular sugar, I guess more likely to crust for the brûlée.
avidrita1
Boston, MA
3/26/2016
I agree with others - this is far too sweet. My old go-to Mark Bittman recipe includes 2.5 cups of heavy cream (or combo of cream and milk) and 6 egg yolks, but only 1/2 cup of sugar. (I was looking up this recipe quickly on my phone, so I didn't pull out my old beat up copy of How to Cook Everything.) When I tasted this mixture before baking I was taken aback - so I pulled out the beat up Bittman book and ended up adding three more egg yolks and another 1.25 cups of dairy to offset the overage of sugar. After that, it came out fairly well :) But for such a simple recipe, the excess sugar seems like a mistake and makes it not worth repeating.
dtimberld
Princeton, NJ
1/20/2016
Cloyingly sweet. BBC Good Food version calls for only 100g (1/2 c) sugar for 10 egg yolks and 850g (4 c) of heavy cream plus 7/8 c whole milk and it is really good - not too sweet.
caliseth
Guildford
1/2/2016
我同意那些说他们花了cl的海报oser to 40 minutes. For the author that asked whether it could be doubled -- sure; keep in mind if you make taller portions rather than simply more, they'll take longer. Oh, for the person who wondered whether they could substitute vanilla extract, sure - figure 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons. It will lack the intensity of the real thing (plus those magic vanilla bean specs!). A compromise would be getting vanilla bean paste - Amazon sells it. Finally, I found this cloyingly sweet. That said, you can't arbitrarily reduce sugar in pastry dramatically and expect the same result yet less sweet.
sblessley
Tucson, AZ
1/1/2016
Mine has been cooking for 35 minutes and still not set....Stay tuned
Anonymous
Wayne Pa
12/23/2015
Works well as long as you bake it at least 40 minutes. Have no idea why 20-25 minutes is listed.
wink0151
Portland OR
10/30/2015
WOW!! So easy, smooth as silk, rave reviews, fabulous caramel crisp with 1 tablespoon sugar under broiler! Loved the earlier cook's recommendation to make Meringues with leftover whites!! Doing that right now!! Thanks for the tip!!!
yeowbaby
5/31/2015
Perfect ever time!
obeechy1
Newbury Park, CA
1/16/2015
