Make a foolproof crème brûlée in your crockpot! The low and slow heat is ideal for baking vanilla custard gently, giving it a silky smooth texture. Add a crunchy caramelized sugar topping, and it's truly an elegant dessert!
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Why this recipe works
- Vanilla custard requires very little effort to make. Just stir together five common ingredients and pour the base into ramekins to bake
- Using the crockpot's low and slow heat gives the custard a smooth and silky texture
- Finishing with a burnt sugar topping elevates custard to an elegant créme brûlée
Did you know that there is a National Vanilla Custard Day in the US? It's August 17th. There are so many ways to celebrate, depending on how energetic you are.
You can go with a delicious and chill homemade vanilla ice cream. Or a fancy Boston Cream Pie that features pastry cream. Or even homemade eggnog if you want to think outside the seasonal box.
If you're not feeling particularly energetic, then you'll want to mix up a quick vanilla custard base and let your slow cooker do all the work. And you don't even have to heat your oven!
But wait, there's more - that baked custard can be sprinkled with sugar, torched until it has a burnt caramelized candy top, and you have crème brûlée.
Creamy vanilla custard, crunchy caramelized candy, and fire? Count me in!
I love the texture difference between the silky smoothness of the custard flavored with specks of vanilla bean seeds against the crunchy crust. This custard is truly a luxury, one worth the time it takes to make!
Indeed, using the crockpot is a foolproof way to make custard. Add a crunchy caramelized candy topping, and you elevate it into an elegant créme brûlée dessert.
Make them for National Vanilla Custard Day, Christmas dinner, Valentine's Day, or really anytime you need a looks-fancy-but-really-simple dessert!
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this crème brûlée recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Custards can come in many forms, loose (like pudding) or free-standing (like quiche). But the basic building blocks are the same - the combination of milk and heavy cream thickened with egg yolks.
Heavy cream and milk: You can use a combination of milk and heavy cream to suit your taste. The more heavy cream you use, the richer the custard will be. You can even use a milk substitute to make a dairy-free custard.
Flavorings and sweeteners: Adds to the complexity of the custard recipe. For our purposes here, a fresh vanilla bean for our vanilla custard. You can replace the vanilla bean with two teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.
Sugar: Used two ways in a crème brûlée recipe: in the custard and as a topping. For a sweeter custard, increase the granulated sugar to ½ cup (100 grams).
What turns a vanilla custard recipe into a crème brûlée recipe is the burnt sugar topping. After the custard is chilled, a bit of sugar is sprinkled on top and a chef's torch is used to melt and burn the sugar into a crunchy topping.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make slow cooker crème brûlée
Preparing this easy crème brûlée recipe requires very little hands-on work. The rest of the time is just cooking and chilling the custard. Plus, there's no more guesswork knowing if your custard is set with a slow cooker crème brûlée.
The only real difference between baking your custard in the oven or in the slow cooker is the type of ramekins you'll need. Usually, crème brûlée ramekins are wide and shallow, but these don't fit well in a crockpot. Instead, I use 6-ounce ramekins, and I can get 4 into a 6-quart slow cooker.
Step 1: Prepare your water bath
You'll need to line the bottom of your slow cooker with a kitchen towel, thick potholders, or create individual foil rings for each ramekin you'll be using. The idea is to keep the ramekins from directly touching the bottom of the crockpot.
Make sure you have enough water for the water bath. It needs to be about halfway up the sides of the ramekins (photo 1). For my 6-quart slow cooker, I used about 1 quart of water.
Step 2: Mix the custard base
For baked custards, you don't need to temper hot cream into egg yolks. Instead you just whisk together heavy cream, milk, vanilla bean seeds, egg yolks and sugar in a medium mixing bowl (photo 2), preferably one with a spout to ease pouring later on.
Step 3: Cook the custard
Pour the custard base into the ramekins about ¾ full. Carefully transfer the filled ramekins to the slow cooker (photo 3).
Drape two paper towels on the rim of the slow cooker to keep condensation from building. You don't want the water to drip onto the cooking custard.
Cook the custards on Low for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the centers are just set with a slight jiggle in the middle. Remove from the slow cooker and allow to cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 3 hours.
How to bake crème brûlée
If you'd prefer to bake your custards in the oven, preheat the oven to 325°F. Place four crème brûlée ramekins (the shallow circular or oval ones) in a baking pan large enough to hold them all, then add enough water so that the level is halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Make the custard and fill the ramekins about ¾ full, then place the filled ramekins in the water bath. Bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes, or until the centers are just set with only a slight wiggle in the middle.
Step 4: Caramelize a sugar topping
The best way to caramelize the sugar is with a chef's torch. It's quick, easy, and produces that beautiful color that crème brûlée is known for (photo 4). If that's not available, see the tip below on how to use a broiler to make the burnt sugar.
By the way, if you want another use for the chef's torch, here's an idea while the custards are in the slow cooker...turn sweet onions into homemade French Onion Soup. It's a great project for a lazy afternoon, and dinner will be delicious!
Storage instructions
Crème Brûlée can be baked and chilled up to 2 days ahead. Make the burnt sugar topping just before serving.
Use the broiler to make the burnt sugar
You can use your oven's broiler if you don't have a chef's torch handy, but really, what's the fun in that?
Seriously, the broiler can melt the sugar, but it might not come out as golden. Place the sugared custards under a broiler about 2- to 3-inches from the heating element. Depending on your broiler, it can take about 5 to 8 minutes for the sugar to bubble so keep a close eye on them.
[Disclaimer: I do not advocate playing with a chef's torch! It's not a toy and can cause serious burns to yourself, to others, or to your dwelling if not used in the proper manner. Please take care!]
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
You can use any combination of cream and milk you’d like. Just know that the more cream you use, the richer the finished custard will be.
Plain greek yogurt is one substitute as it has a consistency similar to heavy cream. You can also use a dairy free alternative, but try to find one that's thick and has a higher fat content, like canned coconut milk.
There are 3 types of custards: stirred custards, baked custards, and steamed custard. The first two are the predominant methods in Western cuisine, and what we'll discuss here.
Stirred custards are made on the stovetop, usually with egg yolks. Cream is heated, then some is slowly added to egg yolks to raise their temperature without curdling (called "tempering the eggs"). The warmed egg mixture is then poured back in with the rest of the heated cream and stirred until the whole thing is thickened. Stirred custards tend to be soft and runny.
This is how pastry cream is made (aka Crème Anglaise, for you purists).
If you add cornstarch to the heated mixture, you'll get a thicker custard, aka pudding (although some pudding recipes don't use eggs). Freeze and churn this base, and you have ice cream.
Baked custards are baked in the oven, and usually contain whole eggs. There are many varieties of baked custards, like bread pudding and quiche. A baked custard will have a firmer texture than stirred custards, and will be able to hold it's shape outside the container (like flan).
How you bake the custard is important. Rather, it's how you protect the custard from the intense heat of the oven that matters. For the aforementioned bread pudding and quiche, using bread cubes or a pie crust insulates the custard so it can bake slowly.
Otherwise, you need a water bath, like you'd use when making cheesecake. In the oven, water acts as the insulator, shielding the custard and allowing it to cook gently. You just have to be careful not to over- or under-bake the custard.
Using the slow cooker with a water bath does the same thing, it's just that the lower cooking temperature really slows the process and produces a silky smooth custard. It might take longer, but the result is well worth it.
I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
More custard recipes to try
Recipe
Foolproof Slow Cooker Crème Brûlée
Ingredients
For the custard
- 1½ cups heavy cream, see Recipe Notes
- ½ cup milk, see Recipe Notes
- 1 fresh vanilla bean, split and scraped, see Recipe Notes
- 6 large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar, see Recipe Notes
For the burnt sugar topping
- 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Decide how many 6-ounce ramekins will fit in your slow cooker (in my 6-quart model, I can fit four). Line the slow cooker with a kitchen towel, thick potholders, or create individual foil rings for each ramekin you'll be using. The idea is to keep the ramekins from directly touching the bottom of the crockpot.
- Place the empty ramekins in the crockpot and measure enough water for it to be halfway up the sides of the ramekins (in my 6-quart slow cooker, I used about 1 quart of water for the water bath). Remove the ramekins and set aside.
- Combine the heavy cream and milk in a medium mixing bowl, preferably one with a spout. Add the vanilla bean seeds and whisk well. Add the egg yolks and sugar, whisking well.
- Pour the custard base into the ramekins about ¾ full. Carefully transfer the filled ramekins to the slow cooker. Drape two paper towels on the rim of the slow cooker to keep condensation from building.
- Cook the custards on LOW for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the centers are just set with a slight jiggle in the middle.
- Remove from the slow cooker and allow to cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 3 hours. If holding longer, cover them with plastic wrap to avoid condensation on the custard’s surface.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle about one teaspoon of sugar on the custard's surface and gently spread to cover. Using a chef’s torch, toast the sugar until it’s brown and bubbling (it will harden as it cools. Serve and enjoy!
- Storage instructions: Crème Brûlée can be baked and chilled up to 2 days ahead. Make the burnt sugar topping just before serving.
Julie says
this looks good! I have seen similar water-bath methods which boil the water first. that always seems like a pain. looks like you just add regular temperature water?
Tammy Spencer says
That's right, just warm water from the sink is fine.