Scoop Kitchen
Crème Brûlée
Silky egg-yolk custard ice cream with a dark caramel note, topped with glassy shards of burnt-sugar caramel that crack like a brûlée top.
- Hands-on
- 35 min
- Cooling
- 30 min
- Freeze
- 24 h
- Program
- Ice Cream
- Makes
- 4 servings6 servings
Good forValentine’s DayBirthday & party
Nutrition
Per 100 g, estimatedPer serving (¼ of a 473 ml16 oz tubpint, about 121 g), estimated
Whole tubpint: 1086 kcal, 21 g protein1629 kcal, 32 g protein (709 ml24 oz). Contains: Milk, Egg. Toppings are not included in these numbers.
Ingredients
8 ingredientsTap an ingredient when it is in the bowl
454 of 473 ml682 of 709 ml
In the tubpintScale reads
Put the empty tubpint (or your pan) on the kitchen scale and press zero. Add each ingredient until the scale shows the number on the right.
To finish
Mix everything in one big bowl, then divide it evenly between 2 tubspints.
Steps
- Warm 140 ml whipping cream140 ml whipping cream½ cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream210 ml whipping cream210 ml whipping cream¾ cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. Keep it next to the stove.
- Melt 40 g caster or granulated sugar45 ml caster or granulated sugar3 tbsp granulated sugar60 g caster or granulated sugar70 ml caster or granulated sugar¼ cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, swirling, until dark amber, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Off the heat, carefully whisk in the warm cream. It will bubble up hard. Whisk in 200 ml whole milk200 ml whole milk⅔ cup + 3 tbsp whole milk300 ml whole milk300 ml whole milk1¼ cups whole milk and heat until steaming and the caramel has dissolved.
- Whisk 4 egg yolks4 egg yolks4 egg yolks6 egg yolks6 egg yolks6 egg yolks, the sugar for the yolks and a pinch of fine salta pinch of fine salta pinch of fine salta pinch of fine salta pinch of fine salta pinch of fine salt in a bowl until pale. Slowly whisk in half of the hot caramel milk, then pour everything back into the pan.
- Stir over low heat until it coats a spoon, 80 °C176 °F to 82 °C180 °F, 5 to 8 minutes. Do not boil.
- Off the heat, stir in 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract1½ tsp pure vanilla extract1½ tsp vanilla extract2¼ tsp pure vanilla extract2¼ tsp pure vanilla extract2¼ tsp vanilla extract. Strain into the tubpint, cool in an ice bath, then put the lid on.
- Once it is completely cool, freeze the tubpint on a level shelf for 24 hours.
- For the shards, melt 50 g caster or granulated sugar60 ml caster or granulated sugar¼ cup granulated sugar75 g caster or granulated sugar90 ml caster or granulated sugar¼ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar in a clean pan until amber. Pour it thinly onto parchment, let it set hard, then break it into shards.
- Take the lid off, set the tubpint in the outer bowl and lock it into the machine. Run Ice Cream.
- If it looks crumbly or powdery, add 15 ml whole milk1 tbsp whole milk1 tbsp whole milk25 ml whole milk1½ tbsp whole milk1½ tbsp whole milk and run Re-spin.
To serve: Stand a few caramel shards in each scoop right before serving, for the crack of a real crème brûlée.
My notes
Tips
- Take the caramel to dark amber, the color of strong tea. Paler caramel only tastes sweet; black caramel tastes burnt and bitter.
- No thermometer? Run a finger across the custard on the back of the spoon. If the line stays clear, it is ready.
- Make the shards up to 2 days ahead and keep them in an airtight jar. Humid air makes them sticky, so add them right before serving.
Why it works
Caramelizing part of the sugar gives the custard its burnt-sugar depth and turns some of it into glucose and fructose, which keep the tubpint softer. Egg yolks add fat and lecithin, so the texture is dense and silky like the real dessert.
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