Easy Espresso Creme Brûlée – Happy Hooligans

Espresso Creme Brûlée is rich and creamy and bursting with robust espresso flavour and like traditional creme brûlée, it’s topped off with a caramelized sugar crackle.  This Espresso Creme Brûlée recipe is remarkably easy to make, and a decadent dessert to impress guests when you’re entertaining.

Espresso and Creme Brûlée are two of my greatest loves. I have a Breville Espresso Maker so I drink copious amounts of espresso every day. I would eat copious amounts of creme brûlée every day as well, but I do have a little discipline, so I only make creme brûlée for special occasions. Be sure to check out my even easier pumpkin creme brûlée too!

I didn’t even realize Espresso Creme Brûlée was a thing until I was onboard a Princess Alaskan Cruise with my good friend Amanda Formaro from Amanda’s Cookin’. On our first night on board the ship, Espresso Creme Brûlée was on the dessert menu at Sabatini’s restaurant.

Um. Yes please. I didn’t have to think twice. How could I not order a dessert that combined two of my favourite-ever food loves?

Sabatini’s Espresso Creme Brulee did not disappoint. I vowed to re-create the recipe when I got back home, and recently gave it a try for a family get together. I was thrilled with how it turned out; it was a huge hit with everyone.  I shared the recipe first over on Amanda’s blog, but I wanted to share it with you here as well, so, my friends, here it is!

If you love espresso and creme brûlée, you’ll be head over heels with Espresso Creme Brûlée.  The recipe is easy. All you need to make it are cream, milk, sugar, espresso, vanilla and eggs, so gather your ingredients and let’s get started.

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This recipe will make four 5-oz servings or ten 2-oz servings.

Ingredients for Espresso Creme Brûlée

• 1 & 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 prepared shots of espresso (1 oz each)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 7 egg yolks
• several tbsp white sugar (for caramelizing)

To start: Preheat the oven to 200ºF and boil the kettle for the hot water bath.

Separate the yolks from 7 eggs. You can refrigerate the whites to use them later for baking.

Combine cream, milk, sugar, espresso, and vanilla in a pot, and bring just to the boiling point over medium-high heat.

Make your espresso however you normally make it. For me, that’s with my Breville Duo Temp Espresso Maker, which I ABSOLUTELY LOVE. Honestly, I could give up a lot of little luxuries in life, but I could not give up my espresso maker.

As soon as the pot starts bubbling, remove it from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Tempering the Eggs

Whisk egg yolks together well, and then slowly pour the hot mixture into them, whisking constantly. This is called tempering the eggs. It’s important to keep whisking and to add the hot liquid very slowly. Adding it too quickly will actually cause the egg yolks to cook!

Strain this mixture through a sieve into a spouted bowl or large measuring cup. This will remove any bits of egg that might have curdled or cooked when you added the hot mixture.

Place your ramekin dishes in an oven-proof baking dish, and pour the hot mixture into the ramekins.

The Water Bath

Pour the kettle water into the baking dish until the water reaches halfway up the ramekins. Take care to not splash any water into your creme brûlée. This water bath will provide moisture during baking. It will prevent the top of the custard from splitting, and the insides from becoming rubbery.

Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 2 hours. When done, the creme brûlée should look set, but the centers should jiggle slightly when shaken.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and transfer the ramekins to a cooling rack for 30 minutes.

Transfer the ramekins to the fridge to let them chill and set completely. I would recommend a minimum of 4 hours, but they can remain refrigerated up to 2 days.

Torching your Creme Brûlée

Just before serving your creme brûlée, remove the dishes from the fridge and sprinkle a teaspoon or so of white sugar over the surface of each dish. Shake the dish a little to ensure even coverage.

Using a kitchen torch, or an actual blow torch, brown the sugar until it’s fully caramelized.

After torching your sugar, let the espresso creme brûlées sit for 5 minutes or pop them into the fridge for a couple of minutes to allow the caramelized sugar to harden.

Now, grab a spoon, and crack into that creamy espresso goodness.

 

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