Our chocolate creme brûlée is the ultimate chocolate dessert! It’s surprisingly easy to make, and you can make it up to three days ahead, making it perfect for fun!
Our family is obsessed with this chocolate creme brûlée recipe. It’s satisfying, rich, creamy, and incredibly delicious. If you love the classic creme brûlée, you must try this chocolate version. And if you’re on the hunt for Valentine’s Day desserts or something perfect for a date night, this is it! Trust me.
Another thing I love about crème brûlée is that you can make it ahead of time (up to three days!). For more chocolate desserts, check out these amazing chocolate truffles, our famous brownies, or these chocolate chip cookies.
Key Ingredients
- Cream: This chocolate creme brûlée is meant to be rich and creamy, so I use heavy cream. Heavy cream is fine, too. If you’re outside the US, double cream will do the trick.
- Sugar: Plain sugar is perfect for this recipe. You will use it for the custard and sprinkle it on top for a caramelized sugar crust. I’ve also used flavored sugar on top before, espresso sugar is my favorite.
- Egg yolks: The base of crème brûlée is egg custard, so you will need egg yolks. You can save the whites for another recipe.
- Chocolate: I use dark chocolate, but any dark chocolate should do the trick (60% cacao or higher is best).
- Vanilla: I like the ease of vanilla extracted from this. If I’m making vanilla crème brûlée, I might reach for vanilla beans or vanilla paste, but since the main flavor of this is chocolate, vanilla extract is perfect!
How to Make Chocolate Creme Brulee
This decadent chocolate dessert is easier to make than you might think. Chocolate creme brûlée is a two-part process: first, you will create a delicious chocolate custard, then, you will gently bake it to perfection.
Custard is a simple combination of hot cream and sugar whipped into egg yolks. Don’t worry, I’ll guide you on how to chill the eggs so they don’t mess up in the recipe below. It’s the same recipe used for banana pudding and banana cream pie. And if you get a few lumps? No problem! We will filter the mixture later, so no one will know.
Once the custard is smooth, it is drizzled over the melted chocolate and divided between the ramekins. To ensure a silky-smooth texture, we will bake the custards in a water bath, as I did when I made the cheesecake.
After baking, the crème brûlée needs to cool in the refrigerator for at least two hours. But here’s the best part: you can make this dessert up to 3 days in advance!
When you’re ready to serve, simply sprinkle the cold crème brûlée with sugar and toast it with a cooking torch or under the broiler (tips for both methods are in the recipe).
Perfect Chocolate Brulee
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
Our chocolate creme brûlée is the ultimate chocolate dessert! This recipe can be made up to 3 days ahead, making it perfect for entertaining. When you add the hot cream to the eggs, remember to pour it slowly to prevent the mixture from curdling (but don’t worry if a few pieces are stiff—we’ll sort it out later!). To achieve that caramelized top, you’ll need a cooking torch or use our tips for caramelizing under the broiler below the recipe.
6 Services
You will need it
2 cups (470ml) heavy cream
1/2 cup (100g) sugar, plus other ingredients
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 large egg yolks
3 ounces (85g) dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces, about 1/2 cup
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Directions
- Prepare the Creme Brulee
1Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place six small ramekins (5 to 6 ounces each) in a large roasting pan or baking dish. Fill a kettle or pan with water to boil later.
2Place the cream, half the sugar (1/4 cup), and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring gently. Remove from heat.
3Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, but reserve 1 tablespoon to add at the end. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring well at a time, until just melted. Stir in the reserved chocolate until smooth.
4In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and remaining sugar (1/4 cup) until well combined.
5While whisking, slowly pour about half of the hot cream into the eggs. Then, switch from beating the eggs to mixing the liquid in the pan, and slowly pour the beaten eggs with half of the cream back into the pan.
6Now, while whisking, slowly pour the custard into the melted chocolate. Beat in the vanilla, then strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, removing any lumps.
7Boil water (either in a kettle or pan). You will need 6 to 8 cups.
8Place the roasting pan and ramekins in the oven. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come up the sides of each ramekin.
9Spoon the chocolate custard into the ramekins so they are about 3/4 full.
10Bake the crème brûlée until set in the center (the center should still be slightly wobbly), 25 to 30 minutes.
11Remove the ramekins from the water bath and wipe them dry. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
- Worship
1Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. Just before serving, evenly sprinkle the surface with a thin layer of sugar (about 1 tablespoon each).
2Using a culinary torch, melt and caramelize the sugar. Let the sugar cool and harden before serving the crème brûlée.
Tips from Adam and Joanne
- Go ahead and save: You can prepare and refrigerate the crème brûlée for up to 3 days. I cover them with plastic wrap so they don’t raise the smell inside the fridge. When serving, remove the ramekins from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving, add your sugar, and caramelize the top.
- No microwave: Place the chocolate and 2/3 cup of the cream in a heatproof bowl (glass or metal works well) set over a pan with an inch or two of plain water. Make sure the bottom of the container does not touch the water. Allow the chocolate to melt slowly, stirring occasionally (it should take 5 to 6 minutes). Remove from heat and whisk until smooth and glossy.
- No cooking torch: Heat the broiler, sprinkle the tops of the crème brûlée with one tablespoon of sugar, and place them on a sheet pan. Slide under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sugar melts and caramelizes. Look closely! Remove from the oven and let the sugar cool and harden before serving.
- This recipe was inspired by Mastering and Craft, Baking and Pastry, Culinary Institute of America.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
Food Per Serving
Serving Size
1 of 6 ramekins
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Calories
460
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Perfect Oils
37.7g
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Saturated Fats
22.9g
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Cholesterol
213.2mg
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Sodium
78.5 mg
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Carbohydrate
25.9g
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Dietary fiber
1.5g
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Total Sugar
22.6g
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Proteins
5.2g
