Cardamom Crème Brûlée

CARDAMOM CREME BRULEE😍

I won’t say that making this for someone will make them fall in love with you, but I’m also not not saying that, ya dig? This is THE most luscious creme brulee - custardy, creamy, with a hint of cardamom that just sends it right over the top. Truly, I could eat this every day and be happy as a clam. Also great for impresing your mamas this Mother’s Day! I’ve included a full step by step on how to make this, so you too can live your best creme brulee life. You’re gonna love this!

I can’t even begin to tell y’all how many times I tested this recipe LOL mainly because I wanted it perfect for you guys, but also because I wanted it to be the least amount of steps/least complicated as possible. I also wanted the cardamom flavor to be just enough that you got a nice hint of it with each bite without being overpowered by it. The result is, not to toot my own horn, but nothing short of fantastic. It is lusciously creamy and perfectly spiced throughout, and truly one of my favorite things I have ever made. Can’t wait to see you guys try this so you can love it as much as I do!

Before you Begin:

Equipment Needed:

There are two main things you will need to make this recipe: 6” ramekins and a kitchen torch is most ideal. Some alternatives below:

• 6oz ramekins: This is what you will bake the custards in. I love them because they make fun personal sized desserts and also act as small dishes to serve appetizers in. You can find the ones I have here. If you only have 8oz ramekins, only use 3 and increase the cook time to 35-40 minutes. I understand not everyone has ramekins, and I have seen people try this in mugs, or other baking dishes, but have not tried it myself. 

• Kitchen Torch: If you have a gas stove with an actual flame coming from your broiler, you can broil 6” from the broiler for a few minutes for a similar effect. I tried using an electric broiler and it didn’t really work, so I decided to buy a kitchen torch since I love crème brûlée so much. I found one for $15 on Amazon that works great (linked here), but don’t let not having a kitchen torch keep you from making this recipe - there are other ways you can achieve the same effect without having to invest in a kitchen torch.

• Keep in mind, if you are buying a kitchen torch for the first time, you will also need butane for the kitchen torch. It can be found at major grocery stores, Home Depot, or Walmart.

Tips Before you Start:

• I think what trips people out the most about making the crème brûlée is tempering the egg yolks and cooking the custard in the water bath. Trust me: it sounds harder than it actually is.

• The trick is letting the cream cool just slightly so it’s still warm but not hot. Place a slightly damp kitchen towel under your mixing bowl to keep it steady while you whisk, slowly streaming in the warm cream as you go. You want to do a little liquid at a time so you are slowly bringing the yolks up to temperature vs shocking them all at once with the hot liquid.

• Once you’ve poured in ½ cup of the cream, either switch to a spatula or slowly whisk so you don’t create too many air bubbles in the custard. If you do have air bubbles, just tap the bowl gently on the counter to pop them.

• As for the bain marie - which is basically filling the baking dish halfway up with boiling water to allow the custard to cook more evenly. This also creates steam around the custard which moderates the temperature so the custard does not overcook or dry out - you don’t want to skip this part! 

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For the Cardamom Crème Brûlée:

• 2¼ cups heavy cream

• 5 large egg yolks

• ½ cup sugar + 2 tbsps for topping

• 2 tbsps cardamom pods

• 2 tsps vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp salt

Directions:

For the Cardamom Crème Brûlée:

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

• Crush the cardamom pods with the bottom of a heavy pot to release the flavor and add with the cream to a small saucepan and bring to a light simmer. As soon as it starts to bubble around the edges, shut off the heat, add in the salt and vanilla and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

• Bring about 3-4 cups of water to boil in a tea kettle or pot.

• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl until pale yellow in color.

• Strain the cream through a sieve into a glass measuring cup or something that’s easy to pour from.

• Slowly whisk in about ½ cup of the cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs. Add the rest of the cream a little bit at a time, but this time swap out your whisk for a spatula or whisk slowly to avoid adding too much air to your custard.

• Place 4 6oz ramekins in a 9x13” baking dish. You want something with high sides as we are going to create a bain marie - which is basically filling the baking dish halfway up with boiling water to allow the custard to cook evenly and avoid drying out the custard.

• Evenly divide the custard among the 4 ramekins and fill the baking dish halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

• Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until the outsides are set but the middle is still jiggly. Let cool at room temperature, then transfer to the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to 4 days.

• Just before serving, top each ramekin with about 1-2 tsps of sugar. You want just enough to create a thin layer of sugar - you can rotate the ramekin around to coat it. Use a kitchen torch or broil 6” from the heat source (see Note below) until sugar has caramelized and browned. Watch it closely as it can burn quickly. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Note: I unfortunately have an electric broiler, which is just heated grates instead of an actual flame. I tried to create the same brunt sugar effect under my electric broiler, and it didn’t quite work. If you have a broiler with an actual flame, that would likely work as I’ve heard of many people have success that way. I have also heard of people successfully getting the burnt sugar effect by heating a spoon over flame and passing it over the sugar, but I found it took a much longer time to get the sugar to burn. If you plan on making this often though, I would highly recommend investing in a kitchen torch as it will make life a lot easier.