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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Get the vanilla bean crème brûlée recipe here. If you give it a go, we’d love to see! Take a picture and tag us on Instagram @The_Bojon_Gourmet, @SnixyKitchen and @RodelleVanilla. And head over to Snixy Kitchen to read Sarah’s thoughts on crème brûlée.
*Many thanks to Rodelle for making this video project possible! And many thanks to Grace Green Beauty for sponsoring The Bojon Gourmet this month! Shop their site for organic, eco-conscious skincare products that are practically good enough to eat. I’ve got my eye on these gorgeous gift boxes. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this space.*
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I love this little video – well done!
I loved everything in this video : the music, the light, each props you used.!
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.
I love the advice to make a double sugar layer, so smart, I always wondered how to make the caramel layer thicker.
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!
This looks so wonderfully perfect. That cracked top makes me swoon!
I’ll always have a special place in my heart (and tummy) for creme brûlée. The video is perfect, well done you guys!
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).
This looks AMAZING!! Love the video and yes to anything vanilla bean! :)
This video is everything. LOVE this collaboration!! And there’s nothing better than cracking into that perfect thick crust!!
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
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!
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
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.
I’m having flashbacks. IN A GOOD WAY. COME TO ME, CREME BRULEE!!
Crème brûlée is my favourite! Yours looks perfect. And I love Rodelle.
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
the video is so lovely! beautiful photos, as always. feeling inspired to give this recipe a whirl!
The link doesn’t work :( Is there any other way to see the recipe?
Hm, it’s working for me! http://rodellekitchen.com/our-recipes/rodelle-vanilla-bean-crme-brle