Crème Brûlée—the Perfect Valentine’s Day Dessert Creamy and Indulgent Yet Simple to Prepare

I love making crème brûlèe for my husband on Valentine’s Day. You only need four ingredients to make this indulgent dessert—cream, vanilla bean, sugar, and egg yolks—and it is super simple to prepare. This velvety custard with its crunchy, caramelized crust is the perfect ending to Valentine’s Day dinner.

French cooks have been making crème brûlèe for their valentine’s for centuries. Food historians believe the first printed recipe for crème brûlée appeared in 1691 in the French cookbook, “Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois,” written by Francois Massialot, a cook at the Palace of Versailles. In French, crème brûlée means “burned cream”.

American cooks, however, have only been making crème brûlèe for a few decades. White House records indicate that Thomas Jefferson was the first president to serve crème brûlèe at White House dinners. However, it wasn’t until the infamous James Beard mentioned this dessert in a 1970s Los Angeles Times article that crème brûlée began to have roots in America. Crème brûlée became all the rage when New York City’s famed restaurant, La Cirque, put it on the menu in the 1980s.

If you want to show that special someone in your life that you adore them, make crème brûlèe this Valentine’s Day. I prefer caramelizing my crème brûlèe under the broiler. If you have a torch and want to use it, I have included tips at the end of the recipe. Since this recipe uses only egg yolks and since eggs have gotten so expensive, I have included tips at the end of the recipe on how to freeze the whites.

Carol Ann’s Crème Brûlée

Makes 8 servings

Raspberries and fresh mint leaves make a nice garnish for this creamy dessert.

1 quart heavy cream

1 large vanilla bean, cut lengthwise with insides scraped out

1 pinch salt

8 egg yolks

¼ cup sifted white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a medium heavy saucepan, heat heavy cream, vanilla bean (both husk and insides), and salt over a medium heat until cream almost reaches a boil. (The cream will almost be at a boil when tiny bubbles form at the perimeter of the saucepan.) Remove the pan from the heat.

Combine egg yolks and sifted white sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk them together until a ribbon is formed. Remove vanilla bean from the cream. Strain the cream mixture slowly through a mesh strainer into the egg yolk mixture. Skim off any foam that appears on the surface. Whisk to blend.

Divide the custard into 8 ramekin dishes. Set the dishes in a large baking dish. Pour hot water into the baking dish until the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 1 ¼ hours, or until the custard is set. (Sometimes it is easier to place the baking dish on the rack of your oven before adding the hot water.)

To caramelize: Let the custard cool on the kitchen counter. Sprinkle each ramekin with brown sugar, covering the custard as evenly as possible with the sugar. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and broil for about 1 ½ minutes, or until sugar is melted, bubbly, and caramelized or use a torch to caramelize. Watch carefully. Remove, cool, and serve or chill until served.

Tips on caramelizing sugar in the oven: The rack of your oven should be about 2 inches from the broiling heating element. Cover the ramekins as evenly as possible with the brown sugar. Once in the oven, the brown sugar in some ramekins may melt and bubble sooner than others. You can rotate your pan for more uniform results. Cool before serving.

Tips on caramelizing sugar with a torch: Cover the ramekins as evenly as possible with the brown sugar. Hold the torch 2 to 3 inches above the surface of the custard. For even caramelization, rotate the torch in a circular motion until the sugar is a golden brown color. Cool before serving.

Tips on storing crème brûlèe: If you want to make this ahead, cover the ramekins tightly with plastic wrap. This recipe can be refrigerated up to 2 days.

Tips on freezing egg whites: Crack open the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. Place the whites into the ice cube tray. There is no need to stir them. Cover the tray with aluminum foil, parchment paper, or plastic wrap and place the tray in the freezer. Once the eggs are frozen, remove them from the tray and transfer them to freezer Ziploc® storage bags. Use a marker to note the freezing date on the bag. Each section of the tray will equal 1 egg white.

Carol Ann

Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market, and international Amazon best-selling and award-winning author of Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.

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