Why it’s so good!
I’ve made this chocolate creme brulee many times now — at one point, making it 3 times in one week! Oh, the rigours of recipe testing – tough life. One thing I learned in the process is that it is incredibly easy to make. It was a similar revelation to one I had when I discovered how easy panna cotta was to make too.
All you need to do is create the yummy, brulee chocolate filling, bake, and then caramelise (or brulee) the top. It really doesn’t get much easier than that. Once you learn the proper technique for making the filling, you’ll be tempted to make it several times a week too. The chocolate flavor is just amazing and that caramelized sugar top is such a lovely contrast and so much fun to crack through.
If you love custards and puddings you’ll love this recipe. You’ll also love these salted caramel pots de creme, easy dark chocolate pots, and Frangelico chocolate custard pots. Can you tell I have a thing for cream?
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What is creme brulee?
Creme brulee is a rich baked custard dessert with a crisp layer of caramelised sugar on top. After baking, the dessert is chilled and the sugar top is caramelised (known in french as bruleeing) with a kitchen torch right before serving.
You may also have heard of chocolate pots de creme. Another lovely French term, pots de creme are basically a creme brulee without the caramelised sugar on top. Pots de creme also tend to be a little less ‘set’ than creme brulee as they’ll often use milk in place of some or all of the cream. You can certainly make this chocolate creme brulee into chocolate pots de creme just by skipping the sugar crust on top.
Ingredients
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Thickened cream: Also called heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, this is a key ingredient in my creme brulee chocolate recipe. I don’t recommend replacing it or substituting it with anything else.
- Dark chocolate: You must use dark chocolate (50% – 70% cocoa) / semi-sweet chocolate and try to use very good quality eating chocolate — not compound chocolate. You only need 100g / 3.5oz, but being that only 4 ingredients are going into this, good flavour and texture are a must. It won’t make them bitter, I promise.
- Egg yolks: I’m only using the yolks to get that rich, creamy, and tender texture. If you include the whites, your creme brulee chocolate recipe will have a much firmer consistency — something you don’t want for this dessert.
- Caster sugar: I use this superfine sugar in the brulee chocolate custard and to create that crunchy sugar topping.
You can also add a touch of vanilla extract if you have it on hand 1/2 to 1 teaspoon is perfect.
How to make chocolate creme brulee
Making creme brulee with chocolate is extremely easy to do and comes together with ingredients that I ALWAYS have on hand. For this chocolate version, you’ll start by combining the cream and dark chocolate, then move on to the rest of the steps.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Create the chocolate cream
Heat the cream and sugar, then pour it into a bowl over your finely chopped dark chocolate — almost as if you were making ganache.
Let that sit for about 5 minutes then stir the chocolate cream mixture until smooth.
2. Incorporate the egg yolks
Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until light and creamy.
Slowly pour the chocolate cream into the egg yolks while beating on Low. Don’t mix it in all at once or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.
3. Bake & cool
Strain the chocolate custard then pour it into ramekins inside a roasting pan or deep baking pan. You create a water bath by pouring boiling water into the pan the ramekins sit in to about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Now, bake at 140°C/285°F for about 1 hour.
Don’t be tempted to increase the heat or the texture of your creme brûlée will suffer. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour. Then, place in the fridge to finish chilling for at least 2 hours, though overnight is best.
4. Caramelise
Take your chocolate creme brûlées out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before adding the sugar topping. Sprinkle the sugar on top and use a kitchen torch to caramelise it right before serving. Enjoy!
Tips and tricks
- Chocolate crème brûlée is a wonderful make-ahead dessert, perfect for if you’re having friends round. You can make these glorious little baked chocolate custard pots a couple of days ahead and then brulee the tops right before serving. Brulee-ing the tops takes about a minute each, so maybe just small dinner parties, not parties of 30 people :).
- Straining the batter before you add the chocolate cream to the ramekins ensures they have the smooth texture associated with chocolate creme brulee. It’s a small step that’s worth the extra effort.
- Avoid overbaking! The centres should still be a bit jiggly when you pull them out of the oven. They will have plenty of time to set during the chilling step.
- You also absolutely must let your brulee with chocolate chill in the fridge. I know you’ll all be very eager to dig right in, but that setting time is key. Let them cool at room temperature first, then place in the fridge for at least 2 hours. But, as mentioned overnight is always better.
What to do with leftover egg whites
Okay, so I hear you. You’ve just made this creme brulee with chocolate recipe and you have all these leftover egg whites now. What can you do with them? Check out these recipes for some ideas:
FAQs
The key difference between creme brulee and custard is that creme brulee features a layer of caramelised sugar on top while custard does not.
You can mess up this chocolate creme brulee recipe in a few different ways. First, you want to whisk the filling ingredients until just combined to avoid any air bubbles. You also need to avoid overbaking or under-chilling. Honestly, if you follow my recipe to a tee, you won’t run into any of these problems.
Both are custard and use a lot of the same ingredients, but they are prepared, cooked, and served differently. Flans are generally cooked in a large baking dish while creme brulee is made in ramekins. Brulees are also topped with caramelised sugar, and flans boast a signature caramel sauce.
Storing
Brulee with chocolate will keep in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days — remember that you can prep them and leave them in the fridge ahead of an upcoming party too. Just be sure to place the ramekins in an airtight container, or cover them tightly with plastic wrap.
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Did you try this creme brulee with chocolate? Show it some love in the comments below.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups thickened (heavy) cream
- 125 g dark (50-70%) chocolate, finely chopped (4.4oz)
- 5 egg yolks, from large eggs
- ⅓ cup caster (superfine) sugar
- ¼ cup caster (superfine) sugar, extra (notes)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 140C / 285F / 120C fan forced.
- Place a layer of paper towel into a casserole dish or baking tin that can hold 6 ramekins. Pour water into the dish about 1cm deep then place in the oven to warm.
- Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof dish and set aside.
- Add the cream and ½ the sugar to a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the cream steams and you see the first bubble.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a 1-2 minutes before stirring until the chocolate has completely melted into it.
- Beat together the egg yolks and remaining sugar about 30 -40 seconds until lightened. Slowly pour the chocolate cream in while constantly beating on low. (You can also use a manual whisk).
- Strain custard into a pouring jug to remove any possible lumps. Now divide the custard equally between the 6 ramekins.
- Place the ramekins into the baking dish and, if necessary, top up the water so that it goes halfway up the outsides of the ramekins.
- Bake for around 1 hour until the custard looks set around the edges and the centre still has a wobble when you give it a gentle shake. It should wobble but not look like it's liquid underneath the surface.
- Remove the ramekins from the baking dish, careful not to burn yourself. Cool for 1 hour, then place in the fridge to cool for at least 2 hours or overnight is better.
- Take ramekins out of the fridge 1/2 an hour before serving.
- Right before serving, divide extra sugar between the custards, sprinkling evenly over the top of each one. Use a kitchen blow torch to caramelise the sugar on top until golden and glass-like.
Notes
- I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (4 teaspooons worldwide)
- I recommend using an oven thermometer for any baking / roasting. All ovens vary and thermostats can often be out. An oven thermometer is cheap and long-lasting.
- Don’t be tempted to cook them at a higher temperature as it will affect the texture.
- I recommend getting a kitchen blowtorch for creme brulee’s as well. while you could put them under a broiler / top grill, it can overheat the custards, making them melt completely by the time the top is bruleed. If you do try it this way, don’t take them out of the fridge until the last moment.
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7 Comments on “Chocolate Creme Brulee”
Hi Marie,
I’m excited to try out this recipe. Do you need to let the chocolate cream mixture cool (or even cool completely) before you slowly add it to the egg mixture?
Hi Emily, no, it doesn’t need to cool down. Making sure to add the hot mixture to the eggs slowly while continually mixing, will keep it cool enough so that the egg doesn’t scramble.
Marie, I’m so craving this creamy, chocolaty brulee! It’s so wonderful with the chocolate!
thanks so much Kelly
Inventive I must say!! And great to know it’s a make ahead type of adventure! Curious tho, where did you find those ramekins?
Hey there Blue. These are the ramekins I used https://www.house.com.au/product/ambrosia-mixx-grey-mini-round-baker-with-lid
Ooooh, I loooove creme brûlée, and this one looks particularly amazing, Marie! Unfortunately I’ve never tried this dessert at home as I don’t have a torch – some people believe it’s extremely dangerous to hand it to me as I may explode the kitchen 🙂