We just can’t get enough of crème brûlée. Crème brûlée is the easiest choice when it comes to dessert. It’s easy to make, easy to eat and easy to enjoy!
The classic crème brûlée is like vanilla. Delicious on its own, seamless on its own and yet we can add certain ingredients to it and it would still be flawless.
Let’s delve into everyone’s sweetheart, crème brûlée with a touch of chocolate.
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What does crème brûlée mean?
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, crème brûlée means; rich custard topped with caramelized sugar.
Crème is French for cream and brûlée is French for a piece of burned-over woodland. The two French words are side by side to literally tell you that you’re eating, BURNT CREAM.
How to make chocolate crème brûlée
Making crème brûlée at home is very easy. This could seem overwhelming but I assure you, it’s not. You’ll have fun making it as you go along!
To make chocolate crème brûlée, you only need 4 ingredients.
- chocolate
- cream
- sugar
- eggs
In a saucepot, heat up your cream and part of the sugar until it steams. Remember to not allow the mixture to boil. You just want it to be warm enough. Remove from heat and pour the mixture into a bowl of finely chopped chocolate. Marry the ingredients together until the chocolate is completely dissolved. We suggest you use your favorite kind of plain chocolate for this to maximize the enjoyment of this delicious dessert.
In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining sugar and egg yolks until it becomes light in color and thick. Once you’ve achieved that, pour in a small ladle full of the warm chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs. Stir gently but evenly. Continue to pour in the rest of the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until everything is fully incorporated.
Place the ramekins in a deep baking sheet and gently pour in the crème mixture evenly into each ramekin up to 3/4. Remember to do this gently to avoid bubbles! Place the baking dish in the oven and pour in water into the baking dish. Bake for 50 minutes, ET voila! You have your cooked chocolate custard!
Place the ramekins on a cooling rack and once cooled, sprinkle some sugar on top and torch the sugar to perfection!
Is crème brûlée the same as crème caramel?
Crème brûlée and crème caramel as so much alike that when the history of the crème brûlée was being revisited, the crème caramel actually proved itself to be one of the earlier custards to be written about. Crème caramel has been around since the Middle Ages.
The east answer to this is no. Crème brûlée is not exactly the same as crème caramel. The main difference is how both are presented. Crème caramel can usually stand on its own and the topping is a caramel liquid. The crème brûlée is served in a ramekin with burnt sugar on top.
What is the difference between flan and crème brûlée?
Although flans and crème brûlée are closely similar, the differences are keen and important.
Both are made with almost the same ingredients and procedure. Crème brûlée is definitely the richer custard while crème caramel is the lighter and firmer one.
Crème brûlée is made with heavy cream and egg yolks, with torched caramelized sugar on top. Crème caramel is made with milk, both egg yolks and whole eggs, with burnt sugar syrup at the bottom of the ramekin. The ramekin is then inverted on a plate after cooking and can sit on its own.
The fat content, ratio of ingredients and toppings make the distinct difference between the two kinds of desserts. Flans are often made with milk and less sugar. The ratio of less fat and sugar allows for the custard to be lighter in flavor and denser in texture. The amount of fat and sugar in the crème brûlée is a lot more than the flan and this allows for a richer custard and heavier texture.
Chocolate crème brûlée vs white chocolate crème brûlée
As we mentioned earlier, crème brûlée is like vanilla. It’s regal on its own yet you can add more ingredients to it and it would still be magnificent.
What do we usually add to crème brûlée? The answer is chocolate. Our good old all-time favorite, chocolate. Chocolate is so delicious that we add it to anything. Chocolate is in ice cream, pies, cakes, cookies, custards and even savory food. Chocolate is the world’s most added dessert ingredient because it’s a global sensation.
So now kind of chocolate do we prefer in our sweetheart dessert? Is white chocolate better or the simple, classic chocolate?
White chocolate is made out of coco butter and sugar. It is basically sweetness with chocolate essence. I love this kind of chocolate because it’s s o versatile. It’s so easy to add white chocolate to anything and for anything to be added to white chocolate. It’s easy to decorate and easy to manage.
Milk chocolate or dark chocolate on the other hand is what our chocolate dreams are made of. Chocolate can stand on its own and yet be adapt to anything it is added to.
To make chocolate crème brûlée is the same as making white chocolate crème brûlée. The procedure is the same and it is very simple. To choose between the two is impossible for us but it’s all a matter of preference.
Chocolate Crème Brûlée Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounce chocolate dark or milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 0.6 cup whole cream
- 0.4 cup milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F(150C) and place a form or tray with water in the middle of the oven.
- Chop up the chocolate.
- Whisk the egg yokes and sugar until porous. Add the chocolate.
- Bring the milk and whole cream to a quick boil. Let it cool for a few minutes and add it to the whisked egg yokes. Mix it together until the chocolate is melted. Add the Salt.
- Add the mixture to shallow heatproof ramekins. Add the ramekins to the water bath and let them bake for 40 min. Refrigerate for at least 1h to overnight.
- Sift 1 tbsp brown sugar + 1tbsp white sugar evenly over the custard and melt the sugar with a torch. Alternatively, broil the sugar for 2 minutes in the oven. Be careful so it doesn't burn.
- Remove for the heat and allow it to cool in the fridge.
- Garnish with sliced chocolate.
