Easy Eggless Crème Brûlée
These Easy Eggless Crème Brûlée are silky smooth, rich, and elegant! Made with simple ingredients these make it the perfect dessert for serving guests.
Servings 4 servings
Calories 482kcal
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (75 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (30 g) cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon black salt (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) evaporated milk
- 1 3/4 cup (420 ml) heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional but recommended)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter
Instructions
- Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and black salt in a medium saucepan.
- Add evaporated milk, heavy cream, and espresso powder (if using); mix to combine.
- Turn heat on to medium-low heat. Start stirring constantly, as soon as it begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and keep stirring; let the mixture thicken, for about 2 - 3 minutes. Do not let it boil, just simmering gently. Keep a close eye on it because the mixture can burn in a flash. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and butter. NOTE: Make sure the custard is thickened before you remove it from the heat. It should be thick enough that it coats the back of a spoon before you remove it from the heat.
- Divide mixture between ramekins. NOTE: I used 4 (6oz) ramekins.
- Place on a wire rack to cool for 2 hours. Place in the refrigerator, loosely covered, and chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, and up to 3 days.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle a thin layer of granulated sugar all over the surface of the chilled Crème Brûlée. Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch just before serving. NOTE: if you don't have a kitchen torch, place ramekins in a broiler 2 to 3 inches from heat source. Turn on the broiler. Cook until sugar melts and browns or even blackens a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Be careful because they can burn fast.
Notes
Store: Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. I highly recommend caramelizing the sugar on top just before serving.
Make-Ahead: You can make the mixture, chill completely, then wrap with plastic wrap and store for a few hours or up to 3 days before finishing and serving.
Salt: When making custards, I like to use black salt, which tastes and smells like hard-boiled egg yolks. This salt is used in many vegan/eggless recipes to mimic the flavor of the eggs. It can be found in gourmet grocery stores or online on Amazon. You don’t have black salt? No problem! Just use regular salt. The pastry cream won’t have an eggy flavor but will be still delicious regardless. When using regular salt, I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
Coffee: The addition of coffee is optional, but I think the coffee adds an extra layer of flavor that makes the creme brulee super delicious. The custard doesn't necessarily taste like coffee; it's more like a subtle touch.
Recipe Tips:
- Since we are not using eggs the mixture won’t be as yellow as the classic version. If you want your eggless crème Brulee to be yellow-ish add a couple of drops of yellow food coloring; of course, this is totally optional.
- If you don’t have ramekins, use a large wide ceramic or glass dish.
- Let the eggless Crème Brulee refrigerate overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- When ready to caramelize the tops, make sure to cover the entire surface with a thin layer of granulated sugar, with no exposed custard. Since the cooled custard could curdle with the heat.
- If you don't have a kitchen torch, place ramekins in a broiler 2 to 3 inches from the heat source. Turn on the broiler. Cook until sugar melts and browns or even blackens a bit, about 3-5 minutes. I highly recommend keeping a close eye on it because they can burn in a flash.
- If using the broiler, be sure to let the custard set for several hours in the refrigerator before brûléeing the top; otherwise, you'll end up with a soupy dessert.
Nutrition
Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Sugar: 18g