There are few things in the world that make me feel fancy quite like crème brûlée does. There’s something about a well-executed crème brûlée – the cold and creamy custard with a perfectly crispy sugar topping – that feels decadent, despite its simplicity to execute. Don’t believe me? Jump to the recipe for my hazelnut crème brûlée and you’ll see!
The hubby was traveling last week so I was glad to have him back home this weekend to help me eat my way through all of my test-baking. Not because I don’t think I could do it, because I’m never one to back down from a challenge that involves delicious food, but because I’m not sure one should ever eat that much in one sitting. Don’t worry, I’m not one to waste so between Colin and I over the weekend, my coworkers and a Bachelor viewing party with my girlfriends on Monday, we crushed this weekend’s baked goods. And boy was there a lot of those.
Despite being determined to finish making my wedding album (do I have a year to finish that as well as the thank you notes?) I woke up with a list of ideas running through my head and knew that I had to get cracking on them. Into the kitchen I went with google docs scribbled with ingredient ideas open and reruns of Parks and Rec playing in the background. What more could a girl want?
One of the fanciest things to come out of this weekend’s recipe testing was definitely this hazelnut crème brûlée recipe. I won’t argue that crème brûlée isn’t intimidating but it definitely doesn’t need to be if you take time to read the recipe and stock your kitchen with the right tools. Namely a kitchen torch. I’ve talked about torch alternatives in the past like broiling the crème brûlées or heating a metal spoon and then pressing it on the sugar but honestly, after going torch I’m never going back.
Besides the kitchen torch, I’ve found that the water bath can be a little intimidating. It’s an important step though because you want the custard to cook evenly to produce a smooth custard. If you’re worried about spilling water everywhere (a rather reasonable concern), place your baking dish on an oven rack, gently pull the rack out halfway, fill it with water and then push it back into the oven to bake!
Now that y’all know that hazelnut crème brûlée is my go-to when I want to feel fancy, I want to hear about the desserts that you love to make to satisfy those cravings!
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup hazelnut creamer
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ Cup (100g) granulated sugar (plus 1 tablespoon for each ramekin you fill with custard)
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- When ready to start cooking, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- In a stand mixer, mix egg, egg yolks and ½ cup sugar until just combined.
- Place heavy cream and hazelnut creamer in saucepan. Heat cream on medium until just simmering. With the mixer running on low, slowly pour heavy cream into egg mixture. Add vanilla.
- Pour batter into ramekins and place ramekins on a baking sheet. Fill baking sheet with water to reach halfway up the ramekins. Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until set in the middle.
- Remove ramekins from water bath and let cool before refrigerating until fully cool. When ready to eat, dust top of each ramekin with 1 tablespoon of sugar and use your kitchen torch to melt the sugar into a nice caramel topping. Let cool a minute (don’t burn yourself on the caramel!) and enjoy.
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