With a rich, smooth, and creamy caramel and coffee-infused custard, this coffee crème brûlée puts the ultimate spin on a classic French dessert! Homemade crème brûlée is way easier than you’d think. It’s perfect to make ahead for your next dinner party!
Feeling fancy? Luckily, desserts like tiramisu and avocado chocolate mousse not only look impressive, but they’re super simple to make. Just like this coffee crème brûlée!
Crème brûlée (French for “burnt cream”) is right up there with souffle as one of those fancy pants-sounding desserts that I never dreamed I could make at home… until I did! This coffee crème brûlée came about when my Mom asked me to make it. It was good timing on her part, as I’d just made macarons and had a bunch of egg yolks begging to be repurposed!
After some recipe testing, my coffee crème brûlée turned out even more delicious than I ever could have imagined. I’ve been making this homemade crème brûlée for special occasions ever since!
What Makes This Crème Brûlée So Good
- Rich, velvety, and infused with coffee. This might be the best crème brûlée on Earth. The crème de la crème (pun intended). There’s coffee AND caramel in there! It’s like taking a caramel macchiato and baking it in a ramekin, crusted with sugar.
- It’s easier than you’d think. You don’t need to splurge at a restaurant to enjoy perfect crème brûlée. Until I made it myself, I didn’t realize just how easy it is to make from scratch.
- No fancy equipment. A butane torch comes in handy to make the topping if you’re sticking with tradition. However, the best part about this recipe is that you don’t even need it! I’ll show you how to “burn” the sugar on top using your oven broiler instead.
What Is Crème Brûlée?
Crème brûlée, pronounced “krem broo-lay”, is a classic French dessert made from a creamy custard topped with a thin layer of hardened, or burnt, caramelized sugar. You have not lived until you’ve tapped the top of crème brûlée with a spoon, shattering the crackly topping to give way to the silky filling underneath. It’s an experience. One, it turns out, isn’t difficult to recreate at home!
Ingredients You’ll Need
This coffee crème brûlée is made with a few simple ingredients. I’ve included my notes here, and you’ll find the printable ingredients list with the full amounts and recipe details in the recipe card below the post.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – I recommend full-fat heavy cream. You’ll use it to make the coffee component and again when you make the egg custard.
- Instant Coffee – Dark roast or espresso granules are best.
- Egg Yolks – You’ll need just the yolks to make the coffee custard. Save the egg whites for an egg white frittata in the morning!
- Sugar – I use granulated sugar and a pinch of salt for the custard. For the burnt sugar crust, however, I prefer the texture of raw sugar. Light brown sugar also makes a good substitute for raw sugar in the crust.
- Caramel Sauce – Choose your favorite jarred caramel sauce from the store. Or, if you have a homemade caramel sauce recipe, go ahead and use it.
How to Make Coffee Crème Brûlée
Making crème brûlée is actually ridiculously simple. Infuse the cream, whisk with egg yolks and sugar, fill the ramekins, bake, and chill. Finish with a sprinkle of sugar, toasted with a blowtorch or broiler. That’s it! Here are those steps in more detail:
- Infuse the coffee cream. First, bring the heavy whipping cream and coffee grounds to a low simmer in a saucepan. Cover, and let that steep for about 30 minutes.
- Mix the egg yolks and sugar. Meanwhile, cream the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
- Prepare the caramel cream. In a separate bowl, mix the caramel sauce with 1 ½ cups of heavy cream.
- Combine. Strain the coffee cream into the bowl with the caramel cream (you can discard the leftover coffee grounds). Then, slowly add the coffee/caramel cream to the egg yolks, whisking to combine.
- Prepare the ramekins. Divide the custard between four ramekins set inside a roasting pan. Fill the pan with boiling water, about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake. Bake the coffee custard in the water bath for 1 hour and 10 minutes, then chill for 40 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- How to tell when it’s set: The texture of crème brûlée should resemble a thick yogurt (like Greek yogurt), with a velvety mouthfeel. The custard is set when it’s soft and scoopable, but not runny. It shouldn’t be jelly- or cake-like, either.
- Chill before torching. Make sure to refrigerate the baked crème brûlée for 40 minutes to 1 hour before adding the sugar and broiling it. This ensures that the custard is cold and keeps it from melting.
- Chill again before serving. Crème brûlée is a perfect dessert to make ahead. You’ll want to chill the finished dessert for at least 3 hours or overnight so that it’s completely set before serving.
- Different infusions. If you want a more classically flavored crème brûlée, infuse the cream with vanilla bean instead of coffee and caramel. You can really get creative with steeping different ingredients in the cream, to achieve all sorts of delicious flavors!
How to Serve Crème Brûlée
Making homemade crème brûlée takes a bit of time and a few dishes, but it’s completely worth it after the first taste of that rich, coffee-infused custard! Serve this crème brûlée cold from the fridge as-is. It’s the perfect finish to a French-inspired meal of beef bourguignon, slow cooker coq au vin, or juicy French onion chicken (inspired by French onion soup, which is another delicious option).
Crème brûlée also makes a great sweet treat to make for Mother’s Day or Easter brunch, paired with fresh fruit or a fruit salad and a big pitcher of mimosas.
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the baked crème brûlée covered and refrigerated with or without the burnt sugar topping. Store it for up to 3 days. Unfortunately, crème brûlée doesn’t freeze well.
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Prepare the coffee cream. In a small saucepan, pour in the whipping cream and the coffee grounds; bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Cover and let steep for about 30 minutes.
For the Custard
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Prep. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
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Mix the eggs and sugar. In a large bowl whisk the yolks, sugar, and salt until well blended; set aside.
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Mix the coffee and caramel mixture. Pour the caramel sauce into a separate bowl and add 1-½ cups of whipping cream. Strain the coffee-infused cream into the caramel cream; throw away the coffee grounds.
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Combine. Slowly whisk the cream mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk until well combined.
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Fill the ramekins. Arrange 4 (6 oz.) ramekins in a roasting pan. Divide the cream mixture among all the ramekins.
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Make a water bath. Pour enough boiled water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
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Bake and then cool. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. When done, put the ramekins into the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
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Broil the tops. Take out the ramekins and sprinkle the top of each custard with a teaspoon of raw sugar. Put the ramekins on a baking sheet and broil for 2 minutes, or until the sugar is melted and browned.
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Chill. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Serve cold.
Calories: 614kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 426mg | Sodium: 182mg | Potassium: 174mg | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 2156IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
