If you thought a classic crème brulee couldn't get any better, try adding white chocolate and think again! This recipe for White Chocolate Crème Brûlée is soon to become your new go-to dinner party dessert.
If recipes with white chocolate are your weakness, you need to try these Raspberry and White Chocolate Cupcakes and this Raspberry and White Chocolate Loaf Cake.
Why This White Chocolate Crème Brûlée Recipe Works
- Recipe name: White Chocolate Crème Brûlée
- Ready in: 55 minutes plus 6 hours chilling time
- Serves: 7 servings
- Main ingredients: White chocolate, sugar, egg yolks, cream.
- Perfect for: Dinner party dessert or a special Valentine's Day treat.
- Why I love it: This is the ideal make-ahead dessert; you only need to add the sugar crust just before serving!
- Calories: 440kcal
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I bet you've ordered crème brûlée at a restaurant more times than you can count. But how many times have you made it? It isn't the kind of dessert you can pick up from a bakery or food store, so if you'd like to enjoy this creamy treat at home, you have only one option. Learn how to make it, and this recipe will show you exactly how.
If you love trying out different dessert recipes, then you have to try this recipe for Espresso Panna Cotta or this recipe for Pistachio Tiramisu.
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Key Ingredients
- Egg yolks - This recipe uses only egg yolks. If you are wondering what to do with your leftover egg whites, see this recipe for the perfect Mini Meringues.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream refers to creams with a fat content above 36%. In South Africa, these creams are often called whipping cream. Please don't make the mistake of confusing this with double thick cream or pouring cream, it isn't the same!
- White chocolate - this crème brulee recipe is flavoured with white chocolate, I used Nestlé Milkybar. Choose a white chocolate bar without a filling, or use white chocolate chips.
- Demerara sugar - I find the best crème brulee crust is made with demerara sugar. White granulated sugar will also work.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
Once you have mastered this recipe, feel free to get creative with how you flavour your crème brûlée. Leave out the chocolate and add a little lemon zest for a citrus flavour, or add a little espresso powder to the cream, and you'll have a delicious coffee dessert! If you'd like to serve this dessert with a little something on the side, try out these Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies or top this crème brûlée with a spoonful of Blackberry Compote.
How to Make White Chocolate Crème Brûlée
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 150°C and place seven standard-sized ramekins into a large roasting dish. Add the yolks, sugar, and salt to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until just combined but not aerated.
- Step 2: In a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, add the cream. Allow the cream to come to a simmer; do not boil. Remove from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate to the cream and stir with a wooden spoon until melted.
- Step 3: With the electric mixer's motor running at low speed, slowly add the hot cream mixture to the egg mixture.
- Step 4: Place the oven tray into the oven. Once in the oven, fill the oven tray halfway up the sides of the ramekins with hot water. Bake in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until just set.
- Step 5: Remove the roasting dish from the oven, then remove the ramekins from the water bath. Please place them in the fridge to set for a few hours, ideally overnight.
- Step 6: When you are ready to serve, sprinkle a layer of granulated sugar over the surface of each crème brûlée, then use a handheld blowtorch to melt the sugar. Serve and enjoy!
How to Avoid a Lumpy, Grainy Crème Brûlée
Like all desserts, there are a few things that one needs to keep in mind to avoid disaster. This is especially true for custard-type desserts, as even a slight timing or temperature oversight can result in a grainy, split, or curdled custard.
Adding the scalding cream to the yolks is when things can go very wrong! You need to temper the eggs and the cream, meaning that the cream and the yolks need to be gradually brought to the same temperature.
If you add the cream to the egg and sugar mixture too quickly, you will 'cook' the yolks, resulting in a lumpy, rather unpleasant custard. There will be dark yellow specs in the custard, indicating that you have not tempered the cream and yolks correctly.
Storage
You can store this dessert in the fridge for up to 3 days, and add the sugar only to the top before serving. Cover the tops of the ramekins with plastic wrap to prevent the baked custards from absorbing unwanted odours. I do not recommend freezing this dessert.
Expert Tips
- Take care when separating the eggs.
- Temper the eggs and hot cream carefully. If the cream is too hot or you add it too quickly, the yolks will cook and form hard pieces.
- Allow enough time for the desserts to set in the fridge.
- To prevent the custards from absorbing odours from the fridge while setting, I recommend covering the tops of each ramekin with aluminium foil or plastic wrap.
White Chocolate Crème Brûlée FAQs
Crème brûlée is served cold. After the custard has cooked in the oven, the crème brûlées are placed in the fridge to cool and set. The desserts are left in the refrigerator until just before serving. The sugar is then added to the tops of the custard and is torched. It is essential not to torch the sugar too far ahead of serving, as the sugar crust will soften over time. When you crack the sugar coating with a spoon, you want it to make that classic cracking sound. This won't happen if the sugar is burnt too soon, and definitely don't place the crème brûlées in the fridge after the sugar topping has been added!
Crème brûlée is best served individually. If you do not have ceramic ramekins, you could bake the custard in a large glass or ceramic dish. The cooking time will need to be adjusted based on the dish's size.
There are a few ways to achieve the iconic sugar crust on a crème brûlée. Most often, people use a blowtorch, but you can also use the grill/ broiler setting on your oven. Another way I like to achieve the sugar crust is to melt sugar in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove until it's lightly golden. I then pour this over the custards, swirling the ramekin until the top is evenly coated.
Crème brûlée, or burnt custard, is a rich custard made from cream and eggs, baked in individual servings. The custard is chilled, and just before serving, the surface of the crème brûlée is coated in sugar, which is then torched to make its iconic crust. For this version of the classic, I have added white chocolate. I have seen many interpretations of this dessert, such as milk chocolate, lemon, Amarula, vanilla bean, coffee, and even raspberry.
When tempering the eggs and cream, my assistant (usually my sister!) will slowly pour the cream down the side of the bowl into the sugar-and-yolk mixture. This helps ensure you are whisking properly, not just in the middle of the bowl. If there isn't anyone around, I use my electric mixer at a very low speed and follow the same process. If you are worried you have accidentally cooked the yolks, you can sieve the custard before adding it to the ramekins, but it shouldn't be necessary if you've followed the tips above (I do it anyway)!
More Custard-Based Dessert Recipes
They're a little bit fancy and a whole lot of delicious, and that is what makes this creamy custard dessert a favourite on so many menus around the world. If you love trying out classic desserts, don't skip this Biscuit Base Lemon Meringue Pie or this Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae.
Happy Baking, With Love, Kitty
Please leave a star rating and comment below if you tried this recipe! And if you're wondering what to try next, have a look at these Heart Cookies with Jam!
📖 Recipe
White Chocolate Crème Brûlée
Equipment
- 7x ramekins 10cm diameter (4 inches)
Ingredients
- 5 egg yolks extra large
- 60 g castor sugar
- 500 ml whipping cream
- 100 g MilkyBar white chocolate chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 80 g sugar demarera
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150°C and place 7 standard-sized ramekins into a large roasting dish.
- Add the yolks, sugar, and salt to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until just combined but not aerated.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, add the cream. Allow the cream to come to a simmer, do not boil. Remove from the heat.
- Add the chopped chocolate to the cream and stir with a wooden spoon until melted.
- With the motor of the electric mixer running at a low speed, slowly add the hot cream mixture to the egg mixture.
- Once the cream mixture has been added to the egg and sugar mixture, pour the mixture through a sieve and into a jug. Fill the ramekins with the custard mixture.
- Place the oven tray into the oven. Once in the oven, fill the oven tray halfway up the sides of the ramekins with hot water. Bake in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until just set.
- Remove the roasting dish from the oven and remove the ramekins from the water bath. Place the ramekins in the fridge to set for a few hours, ideally overnight.
- When you are ready to serve, sprinkle a layer of granulated sugar over the surface of each crème brulee, and use a handheld blow torch to melt the sugar. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature egg yolks.
- Whisk immediately after adding the sugar to the egg yolks to avoid the skins of the yolks from 'burning'.
- Add the hot cream mixture to the yolks and sugar slowly to temper them and avoid cooking the yolks, as this will result in a grainy custard.
Debbie says
My new favourite dinner party dessert! Great recipe, thank you