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    Home / Desserts / Custards & Puddings

    Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée: a video collaboration

    By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on Nov 5, 2015 (updated Oct 16, 2024) / 20 Comments

    Your ticket to foolproof crème brûlée: silky smooth custard flecked with vanilla bean and crowned with a thick lid of caramelized sugar. A video and recipe collaboration with Rodelle and Snixy Kitchen. 

    delicious Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée

    Crème brûlée may seem like the fancy-pantsiest of restaurant desserts, but it's actually quite simple to make at home, consisting of few ingredients plus a bit of time and materials. Once you crack the burnt sugar crust and scoop up cool, creamy custard into your maw, you'll agree that the finished product is greater than the sum of its parts.

    stirring Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée mix

    Sarah and I put our heads together to make the most delicious, foolproof crème brûlée recipe we could along with a how-to video that shows all the steps, in collaboration with Rodelle Vanilla. Turn up the sound and enjoy!

    I learned to make crème brûlée at my first restaurant job during the summer before my senior year of high school. I had managed to wrangle a position as a garde manger cook (a.k.a. glorified salad-maker) at a local restaurant in Woodland Hills (a.k.a. The Valley). In true Los Angeles fashion, Villa Piacere had an Italian name, a French chef, a Japanese sous chef, an Iranian hostess, and Latin American line cooks. The food was a delicious melding of cultures, but my favorite part of the whole restaurant was the back patio, filled with plants and strings of fairy lights that felt like a magical garden hidden within the barren hellscape that was Ventura Boulevard.

    Working at Villa Piacere was not without its downsides. Most days, I left exhausted and covered in salad dressing. But I did get to learn dirty words in Spanish, and to make fresh bread, pasta, and my favorite: dessert.

    overhead shot of Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée

    One day, my chef, Serge, took a break from yelling at me long enough to show me how to make crème brûlée. He poured heavy cream into a pot and turned on the heat, remarking ponderously that his own daughter, who was close to my age, wouldn't go near the kitchen. This fact did not surprise me, but Serge's crème brûlée-making did. Serge dropped whole vanilla beans into the hot cream, and when I asked why he didn't split the beans to reveal the speckles of seeds throughout the custard, he sneered that it looked cleaner this way.

    spoon in pot of Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée

    That seemed like a waste to me; wasn't the whole point of using vanilla beans to show off those glorious seeds?

    Now that the only tyrannical chef I work under is the one in my own head, I always split my vanilla beans. Crème brûlée formulas are all quite similar, but we've balanced this one with a double dose of vanilla, a pinch of salt, and just enough egg yolks to give the custard a soft set. Canning jars can stand in for more costly ramekins, and a water bath will keep the custard from curdling and becoming grainy. When the custards have baked, they will wobble like Jell-o when you give the pan a shake. After a thorough chill, a dusting of sugar turns to a glassy crust beneath the flame of a kitchen torch. And the trick to a perfectly thick crust? Repeat the sprinkling and torching process once more.

    pots of delicious Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée
    top down shot of Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée
    two pots of Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée

    Get the recipe over at Rodelle!

    *Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. 

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe Cancel reply

      I love reading your comments, reviews, and questions! If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider giving it a star rating when you post a comment. These help people discover my recipes online. Thank you for your support and for being part of The Bojon Gourmet community!

      xo, Alanna

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    1. Sam says

      November 05, 2015 at 3:21 am

      I love this little video - well done!

      Reply
    2. valentina says

      November 05, 2015 at 3:38 am

      I loved everything in this video : the music, the light, each props you used.!

      Reply
    3. Ksenia @ At the Immigrant's Table says

      November 05, 2015 at 4:01 am

      Lovely video! Having try to shoot videos on several occassions, I know it is much harder than it seems. You gals made it look effortless. And I wholeheartedly support the double dose of vanilla, as well as the speckled look.

      Reply
    4. Kristina says

      November 05, 2015 at 4:46 am

      I love the advice to make a double sugar layer, so smart, I always wondered how to make the caramel layer thicker.

      Reply
    5. traci | vanilla and bean says

      November 05, 2015 at 5:30 am

      One of the first few times I made creme brulee, I overfilled the water bath in a heavy hotel pan and flooded several of the little custards upon removing them from the oven. Had I been in the kitchen at Villa Piacere, I'm certain I would have dropped with whole pan from chef yelling at me. Thick skin, eh? The abundance of vanilla beans and the double sugar layer make this creme brulee absolutely perfect. Your and SK's collaborations are fun and inspiring. Beautiful, Alanna!

      Reply
    6. Katrina says

      November 05, 2015 at 5:56 am

      This looks so wonderfully perfect. That cracked top makes me swoon!

      Reply
    7. Liren says

      November 05, 2015 at 7:20 am

      I'll always have a special place in my heart (and tummy) for creme brûlée. The video is perfect, well done you guys!

      Reply
    8. Heather (Delicious Not Gorgeous) says

      November 05, 2015 at 8:44 am

      i was floored from the first picture- perfectly creamy and silky custard, and that brulee job, wow! the video was amazing, too (i never expect to see one on a blog, so it's a nice surprise).

      Reply
    9. tieghan says

      November 05, 2015 at 8:51 am

      This looks AMAZING!! Love the video and yes to anything vanilla bean! :)

      Reply
    10. Alana says

      November 05, 2015 at 11:37 am

      This video is everything. LOVE this collaboration!! And there's nothing better than cracking into that perfect thick crust!!

      Reply
    11. todd wagner says

      November 05, 2015 at 3:00 pm

      No disrespect to any of your other videos (including the trio of floats, hehe) but this one is GORGEOUS!! That bubbly sugar crust...my word :o

      Reply
    12. Chelsea | Whole Bite Blog says

      November 05, 2015 at 3:53 pm

      These photos are so mouthwatering. I just want to take my spoon and crack that beautiful, golden sugar topping. Now I'm majorly craving creme brulee :) Beautiful post!

      Reply
    13. Claudia | The Brick Kitchen says

      November 05, 2015 at 8:32 pm

      Such gorgeous creme brûlée! I definitely agree with you on the vanilla bean though - I love the little black specks! And great tips too - I never thought about sprinkling and torching it twice for maximum crust. Love the video!! <3

      Reply
    14. Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says

      November 06, 2015 at 8:41 am

      I have been craving creme brûlée for the past week, so this couldn't come at a better time. So beautiful, and I adore the video.

      Reply
    15. Carla (@charliesue) says

      November 06, 2015 at 10:27 am

      I'm having flashbacks. IN A GOOD WAY. COME TO ME, CREME BRULEE!!

      Reply
    16. Jenn | FOODESS says

      November 07, 2015 at 2:49 pm

      Crème brûlée is my favourite! Yours looks perfect. And I love Rodelle.

      Reply
    17. ellie | fit for the soul says

      November 08, 2015 at 5:00 pm

      I want to learn you from you girls how to make such gorgeous videos!!! Waahh...And these. These are purely gorgeous and so creamy! I loved reading about your boss, ahaha. I've had oooonee too many people like that in my life trying to teach me stuff, or should I say "teach". :P

      Reply
    18. Gaby Dalkin says

      November 08, 2015 at 7:41 pm

      the video is so lovely! beautiful photos, as always. feeling inspired to give this recipe a whirl!

      Reply
    19. Ksenia says

      February 09, 2016 at 12:29 am

      The link doesn't work :( Is there any other way to see the recipe?

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        February 09, 2016 at 8:37 am

        Hm, it's working for me! http://rodellekitchen.com/our-recipes/rodelle-vanilla-bean-crme-brle

        Reply

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