Dessert
Strawberry-Caramel Crème Brûlée
Caramelize the custard sugar first, loosen it carefully with warm cream, then cool the mixture before adding the yolks, strawberry puree and liqueur.
- Yield
- 4 small custards
- Cuisine
- French-inspired
Bring it to the table
Warm the cream before adding
Hot caramel releases steam and bubbles vigorously when liquid is added. Use a roomy saucepan, oven mitts and slow additions with your face clear.
At the table
Chill the custards completely, then caramelize their sugar tops shortly before serving.
Before you start
Gather your ingredients.
Full quantities and serving adjustments are in the recipe card below.
See the ingredient checklist
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 225 g heavy cream — divided into two equal portions
- 87.5 g strawberry puree — smooth
- 75 g egg yolks — weighed without whites
- 6.25 g strawberry liqueur
- 4 tsp granulated sugar — approximately; a thin layer for each custard
A few useful notes.
Four small custards are a serving suggestion.
The recipe contains strawberry liqueur; baking does not establish that it is alcohol-free.
Add the sugar crust just before serving.
The cooking plan
How to make Strawberry-Caramel Crème Brûlée.
Warm half the cream in a small saucepan and keep it warm. Spread the 60 g sugar in an even layer in a separate heavy saucepan with high sides. Heat over low to medium-low heat, gently moving it with a heatproof spatula until melted and amber.
Remove the caramel from the heat. Wearing oven mitts and keeping your face away, add the warm cream very slowly in small additions. Pause as it bubbles. Return to low heat only as needed to dissolve any hardened caramel, then remove from the heat.
Stir in the remaining cream and let cool until no longer hot. Whisk in the strawberry puree, weighed yolks and liqueur gently until combined. Strain through a fine sieve.
Heat the oven to 300°F. Divide between four ovenproof ramekins of about 150 ml capacity in a roasting pan. Set on the oven rack and add hot water around them to about halfway up their sides.
Bake, starting to check at about 35 minutes, until set at the edges with a gently trembling center rather than liquid movement. Check that the center reaches at least 160°F and continue as needed. Lift the ramekins from the water carefully, cool briefly and refrigerate within 2 hours. Chill fully, allowing at least 4 hours.
Just before serving, blot any surface condensation. Cover each cold custard with a thin even layer of sugar, about 1 teaspoon. On a heatproof surface, caramelize with a kitchen torch used according to its instructions. Let the crust harden briefly before serving.
Let’s cook
The full recipe.
Check off ingredients as you get them ready.
Changing servings? The ingredient list scales automatically. Adjust quantities named in the steps to match, and choose pans and cooking times for your batch.
Strawberry-Caramel Crème Brûlée
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Ingredients
Equipment
Equipment images are illustrative. Exact products may vary.
Instructions
- Warm half the cream in a small saucepan and keep it warm. Spread the 60 g sugar in an even layer in a separate heavy saucepan with high sides. Heat over low to medium-low heat, gently moving it with a heatproof spatula until melted and amber.
- Remove the caramel from the heat. Wearing oven mitts and keeping your face away, add the warm cream very slowly in small additions. Pause as it bubbles. Return to low heat only as needed to dissolve any hardened caramel, then remove from the heat.
- Stir in the remaining cream and let cool until no longer hot. Whisk in the strawberry puree, weighed yolks and liqueur gently until combined. Strain through a fine sieve.
- Heat the oven to 300°F. Divide between four ovenproof ramekins of about 150 ml capacity in a roasting pan. Set on the oven rack and add hot water around them to about halfway up their sides.
- Bake, starting to check at about 35 minutes, until set at the edges with a gently trembling center rather than liquid movement. Check that the center reaches at least 160°F and continue as needed. Lift the ramekins from the water carefully, cool briefly and refrigerate within 2 hours. Chill fully, allowing at least 4 hours.
- Just before serving, blot any surface condensation. Cover each cold custard with a thin even layer of sugar, about 1 teaspoon. On a heatproof surface, caramelize with a kitchen torch used according to its instructions. Let the crust harden briefly before serving.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!A couple of useful answers.
Is the 60 g sugar for the topping?
It is caramelized into the custard base. The separate teaspoon amounts are for the final sugar crust.
Can I torch them while warm?
Chill them completely first, then add and caramelize the thin sugar layer just before serving.
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