In honor of Ellie’s birthday week, I’m sharing my easy creme brulee recipe on the blog.

Q: “But wait… this isn’t a food blog is it?”
A: This is a Dale blog. And Dale loves food and cooking. So… today it is!

Ellie’s favorite dessert her entire life has been creme brulee. I can’t remember the first time she tasted it, but I am very well aware that every time it is on the menu, we order creme brulee. We have tried chocolate creme brulee, pumpkin creme brulee, vanilla creme brulee, etc. I’m an equal opportunity creme brulee lover, though the universal favorite is my vanilla bean creme brulee. You’ll find the recipe for that below. Now, unfortunately for you, you might have to do math unless you have a big family. I created this batch of vanilla bean creme brulee for Ellie’s 18th birthday dinner party (read that blog if you haven’t already). So, this recipe makes around 20 servings.

Yes, I bought 20 identical ramekins for the birthday dinner celebration, what’s it to ya?!

Here is a photo of the Easy Creme Brulee Recipe with Candied Lemon Peel we will be making.

Easy Creme Brulee Recipe with Candied Lemon Peel

Serves: 20
Time: 2 hours active, 3 hours-24 hours inactive
Creme Brulee Ingredients:
2 Real Madagascar vanilla beans
3 quarts heavy whipping cream
18 egg yolks
3 cups granulated sugar + 1/4 cup for topping

Candied Lemon Peel Ingredients:
2 lemons, sliced into 20 total slices and peeled
2 cups granulated sugar
20 mint sprigs
20 raspberries
10 blueberries, halved

Creme Brulee Cooking Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Place ramekins into a roasting pan or deep baking dish (might have to do multiple batches if all the ramekins don’t fit).
In large sauce pot or dutch oven, add heavy cream and set to med-high heat. Split vanilla beans length-wise and scrape the seeds inside into the cream. Allow it almost to reach a boil, stirring occasionally.
While cream is warming, separate egg yolks from whites into a large mixing bowl. Add 3cups sugar (less if you want it less sweet) and beat until well incorporated.
Add hot cream mixture to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream while continuously stirring. Don’t add too fast or you run the risk of cooking the egg. While that might be a deliciously sweet scrambled egg, that’s not the goal here, haha.
Once fully incorporated pour/ladle mixture evenly into ramekins (these should be in your roasting pan). Fill roasting pan with warm water until it reaches halfway up the ramekins. Carefully place in oven and cook for 40 minutes or until it begins to set. It will still be wiggly in the center. Remove from the roasting pan and place in the refrigerator to cool and set.

Candied Lemon Peel Cooking Instructions

While the custard is in the oven, let’s candy some lemon peel. First add the peels to a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. When it reaches a boil, strain out the water. Then, fill the pot back up with new water and bring to a boil again. Dump and bring to a boil a 3rd time (we are removing the bitterness). After the 3rd time, remove the lemon peel and set aside. Add 1.5 cups of water and 1.5 cups of granulated sugar. Heat over medium high heat while stirring. When the sugar dissolves, add the lemon peel into the mix (simple syrup). Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 45 minutes. Strain the “lemon simple syrup” and save it for something else (Lemondrop mocktail, maybe?). Let them cool and dry (they will still be sticky). When cool, dust them in the remaining granulated sugar and store in the refrigerator. When ready to plate, I pierce the lemon peel with a toothpick, then add a mint leaf and berries. In the image above, it looks very retro Mario brothers plant, am I right?

Bringing It All Together

After the custard has cooled and set in the fridge for at least 3 hours (I did 24 hours for Ellie’s party), you can finish the dish. Sprinkle a light top layer of sugar on each of the custard mixtures. Using a kitchen torch, add direct flame to the sugar until it starts to turn brown. Add the candied lemon garnish (totally edible!) and serve or store in the fridge up to 48 hours.

Don’t have a kitchen torch? Here is an inexpensive one that you can get on Amazon. Or here is the kitchen torch I have (this one comes with butane too!)

How do you think I did? I’ve never written a recipe out like that before, and it was more challenging than I expected. I tried to think of every little detail so even a first-time chef could recreate this Easy Creme Brulee Recipe with Candied Lemon Peel. I would LOVE if someone tried this recipe and let me know how I did! And let me know how it tastes!

Finally, here is a picture of the birthday girl and me at her party, and a few of her party photos. Happy birthday week, Ellie!

Talk to you soon,
Dale