Chocolate Creme Brulee for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and once again, it’s Single Awareness day for me which I’m oddly okay with. Personally, I’ve never loved Valentine’s Day because I think it’s a holiday manufactured by greeting card companies. I will say though that showing people you love them never goes out of style, and for me, showing love means making food for people. Personally, I always appreciate it when people put in the effort to make me food (even if it’s inedible lol). The one ingredient that has my heart through and through is chocolate. It’s sweet without being too sweet. I am of the opinion that if you don’t like chocolate, you have no joy in your life. So this week I wanted to put up a recipe for a chocolate creme brûlée that EVERYONE can make.

What is creme brûlée?

Creme brûlée is one of those desserts that people only get at really fancy places because they think it’s hard to make. But that is not true. I used to be one of those people, but when I finally sat down and made it, I discovered that it’s so much simpler than it looks. A basic creme brûlée is made up of 4 ingredients: sugar, egg yolks, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. It’s a rich custard baked in a water bath and then topped with hardened caramelized sugar.

After I learned the basic recipe, I started to riff off it by adding different flavors. So far, I’ve made a matcha creme brûlée and black sesame creme brûlée. It’s super simple to incorporate your own flavors into the custard.

Ingredients

• Egg yolks – Egg yolks form the base of the custard, and they give the dessert a rich flavor.
• Sugar – I used white sugar for this recipe. There are not sugar substitutions for this dessert.
• Heavy cream – Heavy cream adds richness to the custard.
• Vanilla extract – Vanilla adds flavor to the custard. I used vanilla extract, but this can be substituted with one vanilla bean or the same amount of vanilla paste. Personally, I prefer vanilla paste because it has more flavor than vanilla extract and has a long shelf life.
• Cocoa powder – This ingredient adds the chocolate flavor to the dessert. I chose to use cocoa powder because I like how easily it incorporates into the custard. I attempted to use chocolate chips in a recipe test, but it was harder to incorporate. If you want to use chocolate chips, use 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and add it to the hot cream to melt it.

Tools you will need

• Ramekins – I used 4 8oz ramekins for this recipe. You can theoretically use any ramekins you want, but bake time will vary depending on the depth of your ramekins. I would recommend using 8oz ramekins to keep the bake time consistent.
• Baking dish – I used a 9×9 baking dish. If you wish to use a bigger baking dish or pan, make sure the water comes halfway up your ramekins for your water bath.
• Kitchen torch – This is my FAVORITE tool in the kitchen. I think I may be a low key pyro, but burning the sugar crust on top is my favorite part of creme brûlées. Kitchen torches are also pretty affordable. You can get a pretty good one on Amazon.
• Liquid measuring cup – A liquid measuring cup makes it easier for you to pour the custard into the ramekins without spilling. I also use it to pour hot water into the baking dish; it helps prevent any hot water from dripping into the creme brûlées.

Making my chocolate creme brulee

Phase 1: Making the custard

Like I mentioned, this chocolate creme brûlée recipe is SIMPLE. First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Next heat up your heavy cream so that it’s hot but not boiling. You can eyeball it by seeing if smoke is wafting off your cream or by sticking your finger in there to feel the temperature of the cream. It should be hot not boiling. After heating up your cream, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks in a small bowl. Make sure you have a smooth consistency.

The next step is called tempering. Basically, you want to raise the temperature of your egg yolks, so they don’t cook when you combine the cream and eggs. To do this, add 1/4 cup of cream to the egg mixture. Whisk well until everything is well incorporated. Then pour the egg mixture into the hot cream. Stir together until all the ingredients are mixed well. Lastly, add in your cocoa powder and stir until the custard and the cocoa powder are well incorporated. There should be no cocoa powder bits and the sugar should be melted.

Phase 2: Baking the custard

The next phase of this process is to bake the custard. Add 4 ramekins to a baking dish. I used 4 8oz ramekins in a 9×9 baking dish. Ladle the custard over a fine mesh sieve into the ramekins. Pour 2 cups of hot water into the baking dish to create a water bath for the custard. This helps control the temperature of the custard, so it doesn’t overcook.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Take out the creme brûlée at 30 minutes to check if it’s cooked through. Shake the baking dish to see how much the center is jiggling. A done creme brulee should jiggle as much as jello does. If there is a lot of movement in the center of the creme brûlée, it’s not done. Put it back in for 2 minutes and check again. Once done, cool for 2 hours at room temperature and in the refrigerator for 2 hours. They can keep in the fridge for a few days.

Right before serving, add a thin layer of sugar over the top and shake off any excess. Use a blow torch to caramelize the sugar and serve. Alternatively, set the oven to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes to achieve the same result.

How can I prep this for Valentine’s Day?

This recipe does take a lot of time, so the question you probably have is: how can I prep this for Valentine’s Day when I don’t have a ton of time? The answer is that you have to make it the night before and store it in the fridge. Creme brûlées can last up to 3 days in the fridge, so you can make it even a few days before. Take them out right before serving and add the caramelized sugar on top. Make sure to wrap them with saran wrap for storage.

Tips to make the perfect chocolate creme brûlée

Below are a few tips to help you make the perfect chocolate creme brûlée.

1. Temper your eggs – This is my #1 tip for making great creme brûlée. The most common mistake I see when people attempt creme brûlée is cooking the eggs. It is not a pleasant experience getting small bits of egg in your dessert. Tempering your eggs means raising the temperature of your eggs, so they don’t cook. To do this, add 1/4 cup of the hot cream to your egg yolks and stir until well incorporated. Now, it’s safe to add your eggs to the hot cream.
2. Use a fine mesh sieve to smooth out your custard – When you are making your custard, a lot of mixing takes place which creates bubbles in your custard. Bubbles affect how smooth your final result is, so running it through a fine mesh sieve helps remove all those bubbles.
3. Use a spoon to scoop out any bubbles – Even if you strain your custard through a fine mesh sieve, there still might be bubbles floating on top of your custard. Use a spoon to scoop some of it away.
4. Make sure the water comes halfway up your ramekins – I used a 9×9 square baking dish for the water bath, but you can use any size baking dish you wish. If you use a larger baking dish, make sure the water comes halfway up your ramekins. This ensures your creme brûlée cooks at a consistent temperature and doesn’t overcook.
5. Bake the creme brûlée in the center of the oven. – Placing the creme brûlée in the center of the oven allows heat to hit it from all sides, so that it cooks evenly. Placing it too high or too low in the oven causes the top or bottom to burn without the center cooking fully.

Did you make this Chocolate Creme Brûlée?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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