Gordon Ramsay crème brûlée is the classic French-style dessert as his kitchens make it: a rich custard of cream, a little milk, egg yolks and sugar, baked gently in a water bath until it barely sets, chilled, then finished with a thin layer of sugar caramelized into a glassy top that cracks under the spoon. It has appeared on his restaurant menus for years, and he has published a restaurant version of it.
This is an easy crème brûlée recipe for four ramekins, built on the same ratio of dairy to egg yolks as Ramsay's restaurant recipe and scaled down for a home oven. Active work is about 20 minutes; the rest is baking and chilling, which makes it one of the best make-ahead desserts there is. Below is why each step works, from the yolks-only custard to the water bath and the torch, plus how to make crème brûlée without a torch. For the fall version, see our pumpkin crème brûlée, and browse more sweet recipes in Baking & Desserts.
What Is Crème Brûlée?
Crème brûlée is a baked custard of cream, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla, served cold in a shallow ramekin under a crisp layer of caramelized sugar. The name is French for "burnt cream." The contrast is the whole point: cold, smooth, barely set custard against a warm, brittle caramel top that you crack with the back of a spoon.
Where it comes from is genuinely disputed. The earliest known French recipe under the name is in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois, but, as the Wikipedia history of crème brûlée sets out, its ultimate origins are unclear. England has its own claim through "Trinity cream" or "burnt cream," served at Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1879 with the college arms branded into the sugar. Spain has crema catalana, a close cousin made with milk rather than cream and always flavored with cinnamon and lemon zest. The dessert stayed fairly uncommon until the 1980s, when it became a restaurant-menu favorite.
Crème brûlée is also easy to confuse with flan. Flan, or crème caramel, is usually made with whole eggs and milk, baked over a layer of liquid caramel, and turned out of its dish so the caramel runs down as a sauce. Crème brûlée uses yolks and cream, stays in its ramekin, and gets its caramel at the end as a hard, crackly sheet. The yolks and cream make it richer and softer than a flan, too soft to turn out.
How Gordon Ramsay Makes Crème Brûlée
Gordon Ramsay makes crème brûlée the restaurant way: mostly double cream with a splash of milk, a high proportion of egg yolks, and a very low, slow bake in a water bath. In the recipe he published in The Caterer in 2006, a litre of double cream and 200 ml of milk go to 12 yolks and 180 g of sugar, the ramekins bake in a water bath at 110°C (230°F) for 47 minutes, and the set custards are turned out, caramelized and served with fresh Granny Smith apple juice and dried apple slices. His book Gordon Ramsay's Sunday Lunch includes a rhubarb crème brûlée with a honey-sweetened rhubarb layer under the custard, and in his MasterClass cooking class he names a blowtorch as one of the tools he keeps for finishing dishes, a crème brûlée among them.
The dessert also turns up on his restaurant menus. The group dining menus at Heddon Street Kitchen in London pair it with raspberry sorbet, and a 2017 dessert menu for his Atlantic City restaurant listed a vanilla crème brûlée with cherry compote. Here is how those versions line up with this one:
| Version | Custard | Bake | Served with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsay's restaurant recipe (The Caterer, 2006) | 1 litre double cream, 200 ml milk, 12 yolks, 180 g sugar | Water bath, 110°C (230°F), 47 min; turned out | Granny Smith apple juice, dried apple slices |
| Heddon Street Kitchen, London (group menus) | Not published | Restaurant kitchen | Raspberry sorbet |
| Atlantic City dessert menu (2017) | Vanilla | Restaurant kitchen | Cherry compote |
| This recipe | 1 3/4 cups heavy cream, 1/3 cup whole milk, 5 yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, vanilla bean | Water bath, 300°F (150°C), 30 to 40 min; served in the ramekin | A few fresh raspberries |
The home version keeps his ratio (about 100 ml of dairy per yolk) and his water bath, and bakes a little hotter for a shorter time, because a home oven at 230°F takes a long time to set a full ramekin and many ovens run unevenly that low. It stays in the ramekin rather than being turned out, which is easier and forgives a softer set. You can watch him walk through the dessert himself in this demonstration from MasterChef Junior:
Why Crème Brûlée Uses Only Egg Yolks
Crème brûlée uses only egg yolks because yolks set into a soft, creamy custard, while whites set firm and springy. According to the American Egg Board, egg white protein sets between 144 and 149°F and yolk protein between 149 and 158°F, and the yolks are what make a custard smooth and rich. Leave out the whites and you lose the proteins that would turn it into a sliceable flan. Yolks also carry lecithin, a natural emulsifier that keeps the cream's fat evenly dispersed through the custard, which is why it eats silky instead of greasy.
The cream and sugar change the numbers, and that works in your favor. Diluted by a lot of cream and sweetened, yolk proteins have to travel further to find each other and bond, so the custard sets at roughly 170 to 180°F (77 to 82°C) instead of 150-something; the American Egg Board notes that sugar raises the coagulation temperature too. That higher, wider window is what makes a baked custard controllable at home. Heavy cream, which the federal standard sets at no less than 36 percent milkfat, gives the richest set, and the splash of milk in Ramsay's ratio lightens it a little so it stays spoonable rather than dense.
Tempering and Straining: How to Keep Crème Brûlée Smooth
Tempering and straining are the two steps that keep crème brûlée smooth. Tempering means whisking the hot cream into the yolks a ladleful at a time, so the yolks warm gradually. Pour it in all at once and the yolks at the edge of the bowl jump past their setting point and scramble into small lumps before the rest of the mix can dilute them. Heat the cream only until it steams with small bubbles at the edge, around 175 to 180°F; it does not need to boil, and very hot cream makes tempering harder.
Straining catches whatever tempering missed: tiny threads of cooked yolk, the stringy chalazae that anchor the yolk inside the egg, and the bits of vanilla pod. Pour the base through a fine-mesh sieve into a jug, then skim off the foam on top with a spoon, because bubbles left on the surface bake into a pitted skin that the sugar will not lie flat on. Whisk the yolks and sugar only until smooth, not into a pale foam; air whipped in now becomes more bubbles to skim later. Ramsay's restaurant version and almost every classic one strain the base, and it is the cheapest insurance in the recipe.
Why You Bake Crème Brûlée in a Water Bath
You bake crème brûlée in a water bath because water cannot get hotter than 212°F (100°C) at sea level, so the hot water around the ramekins keeps their sides from overcooking while the center catches up. In dry oven air at 300°F, the outside edge of an unprotected ramekin would race past 180°F and curdle into a grainy, weepy ring long before the middle set. Surrounded by water, the custard heats slowly and evenly from edge to center. This is the same reason Ramsay's restaurant recipe bakes in a water bath at a very low 230°F.
Set the ramekins in a roasting pan, put the pan on the oven rack first, then pour in hot (not boiling) water from a kettle until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins; carrying a full pan of hot water across the kitchen is how custard and water end up mixed. A low oven of 300°F (150°C) is the sweet spot for home ovens. Hotter, and the custard can puff, bubble and turn eggy at the edges; much cooler, and the bake drags on past an hour.
How to Tell When Crème Brûlée Is Done
Crème brûlée is done when the edges are set and the center still wobbles like jelly when you nudge the pan, about 170 to 175°F (77 to 79°C) in the middle on an instant-read thermometer. In standard 6-ounce ramekins at 300°F that usually takes 30 to 40 minutes; shallow, wide brûlée dishes are ready sooner, at 20 to 30, and deeper ramekins take longer. Start checking at 25 minutes. A center that ripples like liquid needs more time; one that does not move at all has gone too far and will be firm and slightly eggy.
Pull it while it still wobbles, because it keeps cooking. The ramekins are hot and the custard carries heat inward for several minutes after it leaves the oven, so the center rises a few more degrees and sets further. Chilling finishes the job: as the custard cools, the protein network firms and the fat in the cream solidifies, turning a soft wobble into a spoonable, silky set. Lift the ramekins out of the water bath right away, cool them on a rack for about 30 minutes, then chill them, covered, for at least 4 hours. The custard also clears the food-safety bar: the FDA advises cooking dishes containing eggs to 160°F, and a set crème brûlée is past 170°F.
How to Caramelize the Top With a Torch
To caramelize crème brûlée, sprinkle a thin, even layer of sugar over the cold custard and melt it with a kitchen torch until it turns deep amber, keeping the flame moving. Table sugar has to get very hot to caramelize: ThermoWorks puts the starting point at 320°F (160°C), with the range of light to dark caramel running up to about 350°F. Around 356°F (180°C) the sugar starts to burn and turn bitter, so the window is narrow. A torch suits the job because it puts all that heat into the top millimeter of sugar fast, before the custard underneath has time to warm.
Use about 1 1/2 teaspoons of granulated or superfine sugar per ramekin, tilt and tap the ramekin so it coats the surface in an even layer, and tip off the excess. Blot any beads of moisture off the custard first, since wet sugar dissolves before it caramelizes. Hold the flame a few inches away and sweep it in small circles; the sugar melts, bubbles and darkens in patches, so chase the pale spots and stop as soon as the whole top is amber with a few darker freckles. Let it stand for 2 minutes to harden into glass. For a thicker crust, add a second thin layer of sugar and torch again. A good butane torch with an adjustable flame makes this far easier than a hardware-store model:
Iwatani
Iwatani PRO2 Culinary Butane Torch
- Adjustable flame size and shape: spread a soft, wide flame over a whole ramekin of sugar, or narrow it to catch one pale patch
- One-touch piezo ignition and a stabilizing stand, so it stands upright on the counter between ramekins
- Also browns meringue and crisps cheese toppings; refills with standard butane (fuel sold separately)
Torch the tops no more than an hour before serving. Sugar is hygroscopic, which means it pulls in water, and a caramel sheet sitting on cold, moist custard slowly draws moisture out of it, turning soft, sticky and weepy within a few hours. That is why restaurants caramelize to order and why the custards can wait in the fridge for days but the finished brûlée cannot.
How to Make Crème Brûlée Without a Torch
You can make crème brûlée without a torch by using your oven's broiler. Move a rack as close to the broiler element as it will go, heat the broiler on high for 5 minutes, then set the sugared, well-chilled ramekins on a sheet pan and broil for 1 to 3 minutes, watching the whole time and turning the pan if one side colors first. Broilers vary a lot, and sugar goes from amber to burnt in seconds, so do not walk away.
The broiler works, with one catch. It heats the whole ramekin, not just the sugar, so the custard under the crust warms and softens. Freeze the ramekins for 10 to 15 minutes before broiling to give yourself a buffer, and return them to the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes afterward if the custard has gone loose. The top is usually a little less even than a torched one. A torch remains the better tool if you make crème brûlée more than once a year; it also handles the lemon posset brûlée in our dinner party desserts.
Make Ahead and Storage
Crème brûlée is a make-ahead dessert: bake the custards up to 3 days before you need them and keep them covered in the fridge, then add the sugar and torch just before serving. The FDA advises keeping egg dishes at 40°F or below, using leftover cooked egg dishes within 3 to 4 days, and not leaving them out of the fridge for more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F). Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap so the custard does not pick up fridge odors or form a skin.
Freezing is not recommended. Ice crystals tear through the delicate yolk gel, and when it thaws the custard weeps liquid and turns grainy. A torched brûlée does not keep well either: once the caramel top has absorbed moisture it will not crisp again, so torch only as many as you will eat.
Crème Brûlée Troubleshooting
Most crème brûlée problems come back to heat: too much in the oven, too little time, or the sugar on the wrong side of 356°F. Here is the quick diagnosis:
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Runny center after chilling | Underbaked; pulled before about 170°F | Bake until only the center wobbles; check with a thermometer |
| Grainy, curdled or bubbly custard | Oven too hot, no water bath, or overbaked past 180°F | Bake at 300°F in a water bath; pull while the center still wobbles |
| Little lumps or eggy threads | Cream added too fast; base not strained | Temper a ladleful at a time and always strain |
| Pitted or foamy surface | Yolks whisked to a foam; bubbles not skimmed | Whisk just until smooth; skim the foam before baking |
| Burnt, bitter top | Flame held too close or still; sugar past 356°F | Keep the flame moving; stop at deep amber |
| Soft, sticky top | Torched too far ahead, or sugar layer too thick | Torch within an hour of serving, in a thin even layer |
Crème Brûlée Flavor Variations
Crème brûlée flavors are easy to change because the custard base takes on whatever you steep in the cream. Warm the cream with the flavoring, cover it off the heat for 15 to 20 minutes, strain, rewarm, and carry on with the recipe as written. Two tablespoons of loose Earl Grey tea, a tablespoon of instant espresso, the zest of an orange or lemon with a cinnamon stick (closer to crema catalana), or a teaspoon of dried culinary lavender all work. Ramsay's own versions show the other route, a fruit layer under or beside the custard: honey-roasted rhubarb in his book, apple juice in his restaurant recipe.
For autumn, our pumpkin crème brûlée folds pumpkin puree and spice into the same yolk-and-cream base. If you like your eggs and sugar airy rather than set, the Gordon Ramsay raspberry soufflé is the hot, risen opposite of this dessert, and the Gordon Ramsay sticky toffee pudding covers the warm, saucy end of his dessert menu.
Gordon Ramsay crème brûlée rewards patience more than skill: strain the base, bake it gently in water, pull it while it wobbles, and torch it at the last minute. For a full dinner-party lineup that includes it, see our Gordon Ramsay desserts.
Gordon Ramsay Crème Brûlée
Ingredients
Custard
- 1 3/4 cups heavy cream (420 ml)
- 1/3 cup whole milk (80 ml)
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (65 g)
- pinch of fine salt
Caramel top
- 6 tsp granulated or superfine sugar, about 1 1/2 tsp per ramekin
- a few fresh raspberries, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C) with a rack in the middle. Set four 6-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan and put a kettle of water on to boil.
- Put the cream, milk, vanilla seeds and pod in a saucepan and heat over medium until steaming, with small bubbles at the edge (about 175 to 180°F). Do not boil. If using a pod, take the pan off the heat, cover and steep for 15 minutes, then rewarm to steaming. (If using extract, add it in step 4 instead.)
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and the salt for about 1 minute, just until smooth and slightly paler; do not whip them to a foam.
- Temper: whisking constantly, add the hot cream to the yolks a ladleful at a time for the first third, then pour in the rest in a slow stream.
- Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a jug, discarding the pod. Skim off any foam with a spoon, then divide the custard evenly among the ramekins.
- Set the roasting pan on the oven rack and pour hot water from the kettle into the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (start checking at 25), until the edges are set and the centers wobble like jelly when the pan is nudged, about 170 to 175°F in the center.
- Lift the ramekins out of the water and cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 3 days.
- To serve, blot any moisture from the tops. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 tsp sugar over each custard, tilt and tap to spread it evenly, and tip off the excess. Caramelize with a kitchen torch, flame moving in small circles a few inches away, until deep amber. Let the tops harden for 2 minutes and serve within an hour, with a few raspberries if you like.
Notes
Gordon Ramsay Crème Brûlée FAQs
The questions that come up most: whether crème brûlée is hard to make, how it differs from flan, how to make it without a torch, why it turned out runny, whether it is served warm or cold, how long it keeps, whether it freezes, and which sugar to use on top.
Is crème brûlée hard to make?
No. It takes about 20 minutes of hands-on work and five ingredients. The only skills are tempering the hot cream into the yolks slowly, baking the ramekins in a water bath at a low 300°F, and pulling them while the centers still wobble. The rest is chilling time.
What is the difference between crème brûlée and flan?
Crème brûlée is made with egg yolks and cream, stays in its ramekin, and is topped at the end with sugar caramelized into a hard, crackly sheet. Flan, or crème caramel, usually uses whole eggs and milk, is baked over liquid caramel and turned out, so the caramel becomes a sauce. Crème brûlée is richer and softer.
Can you make crème brûlée without a torch?
Yes. Sprinkle sugar on the well-chilled custards and put them on a sheet pan as close as possible to a broiler preheated on high for 5 minutes. Broil for 1 to 3 minutes, watching constantly and turning the pan for even color. Freeze the ramekins for 10 to 15 minutes first so the custard stays cold, and chill again briefly afterward if it softens.
Why is my crème brûlée runny?
It was underbaked, or it has not chilled long enough. The custard should reach about 170 to 175°F in the center and wobble like jelly, not ripple like liquid, when it comes out, and it needs at least 4 hours in the fridge to firm up. A weak water bath or an oven that runs cool can also stretch the bake well past 40 minutes.
Is crème brûlée served warm or cold?
The custard is served cold, straight from the fridge, and the caramel top is freshly torched, so the sugar crust is still slightly warm when it reaches the table. That contrast of cold, silky custard and warm, brittle caramel is the point of the dessert.
How long does crème brûlée last in the fridge?
Untorched custards keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days; the FDA advises eating leftover cooked egg dishes within 3 to 4 days and keeping them at 40°F or below. Once the top is torched, eat it within an hour or two, before the caramel absorbs moisture and turns soft.
Can you freeze crème brûlée?
It is not recommended. Freezing forms ice crystals that break the delicate egg-yolk gel, so the custard weeps and turns grainy when it thaws. Make it up to 3 days ahead in the fridge instead and torch it just before serving.
What is the best sugar for the top of crème brûlée?
Granulated or superfine sugar gives the thin, even, glassy crust; superfine melts fastest. Turbinado or demerara gives a thicker, crunchier, more toffee-flavored top, but its large crystals melt less evenly, so torch it a little longer and keep the flame moving.
About the Author
John Siracusa is the founder of Hell’s Kitchen Recipes. He focuses on technique-first, reproducible home cooking and researches recipes & kitchen equipment from published food science and professional chef methods since 2016.