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Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée

This crème brûlée recipe is a sophisticated combination in three layers: chocolate ganache, vanilla custard, and, of course, a delicious thin crust of caramel.

It is more complicated than a simple chocolate crème brûlée, but well worth the effort when you see your guests' reactions.

37K 5 4.4

Last modified on: December 30^th 2019

Keywords for this recipe:Crème brulée Caramel Vanilla Chocolate

For 4 people, you will need:

1 350 g Chocolate ganache
2 125 ml whole milk
3 125 ml liquid cream
4 ½ vanilla pod
5 30 g caster sugar
6 3 egg yolks
7 4 tablespoons caster sugar
Total weight: 752 grams

Change to the quantities for: 2 people 4 people 8 people 12 people

Change measures: Metric

Metric weight Metric volumes

How long does it take?

Time required for this recipe:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
49 min.	20 min.	50 min.	1 hour 59 min.

At what time:

When will I finish if I start the recipe at ... ?
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Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 15 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #1

Prepare the ganache

Prepare 350 g Chocolate ganache.

Stage 2 - 4 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #2

As soon as it is ready and while still hot, divide it evenly between the crème brulée dishes.

Put to wait in the fridge.

Stage 3 - 10 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #3

Prepare the vanilla cream

Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C).

Put into a saucepan: 125 ml whole milk, 125 ml liquid cream and ½ vanilla pod with its seeds scraped out.

Bring to the boil on medium heat, then turn off the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

Stage 4 - 2 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #4

Put 30 g caster sugar and 3 egg yolks into a mixing bowl.

Stage 5 - 1 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #5

Mix thoroughly.

Stage 6 - 20 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #6

Then pour in the infused milk while stirring.

Stage 7 - 1 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #7

Mix thoroughly.

Stage 8 - 2 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #8

Clean the saucepan, then pour the vanilla-flavoured mixture back in through a fine strainer.

Stage 9 - 8 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #9

Put the saucepan back on low heat and stir constantly while the custard thickens to "coating" consistency (you can leave a mark with your finger on the back of a wooden spatula or soft spatula, as shown in the photo.

Stage 10 - 20 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #10

Stand the saucepan in cold water to cool the custard rapidly.

Stage 11 - 4 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #11

When cooled, pour the custard as a second layer on top of the ganache.

Cooking

Method 1: stand the dishes in a larger dish or tray on a sheet of paper (optional). Pour boiling water around the dishes before putting in the oven.

Stage 12

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #12

Method 2: stand the dishes in an oven tray filled with boiling water.

Stage 13 - 30 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #13

Leave to cook for about 30 minutes until the vanilla custard is set.

Take the dishes out of the oven and leave to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight, covered with plastic film, so that the custard is really cold.

Stage 14

Caramelize the tops

This is THE tricky moment: burning...

Sprinkle a tablespoonful of sugar evenly on top of the custard, then burn it as shown in this short demonstration video.

Note: the best tool for melting the sugar is a blow-lamp. If you don't have one, see below how to use your grill.

Stage 15 - 2 min.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #15

You should end up with the famous thin brown crust all over the surface of the custard.

Stage 16

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée : Photo of step #16

Put the crème brûlée back in the fridge for about 30 minutes for the caramel to harden and the custard to become cold again.

Reheat the crust a few seconds before serving your guests with the perfect crème brulée: chocolate ganache, cold creamy custard and a crust of hot, crunchy caramel.

Remarks

As I said, the perfect crème brûlée (for me) is a soft, cold custard with a thin, hot, brown and crunchy crust. Here are some tips:

Proceed in two stages: caramelize the tops and refrigerate for about half an hour to cool. Just before serving, re-heat with the blowlamp for just a few seconds.
It's easier to get a good crust if you use white sugar rather than brown, but it's a matter of taste.

If you do not have a blowlamp, you can try using your grill (broiler): stand the dishes in the grill pan (or a deep, solid baking tray), add cold water to half the depth of the dishes, and put under the grill for just one or two minutes (maximum) to caramelize the sugar. The cold water protects the custard against the heat, but it's very difficult because the grill is always too hot.

Keeping

Before caramelizing, a few days in the fridge covered with plastic film.

Nutritional information

Whole recipe
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
1,390 Kcal or 5,820 Kj	30 gr	219 gr	166 gr
69 %	12 %	21 %	25 %

Per 100 g
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
185 Kcal or 775 Kj	4 gr	29 gr	22 gr
9 %	2 %	3 %	3 %

Per person
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
347 Kcal or 1,453 Kj	8 gr	55 gr	41 gr
17 %	3 %	5 %	6 %

% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by day for a woman (change to a man).

How much will it cost?

For 4 people : 4.12 €
Per person : 1.03 €

Change currency:

Note : These prices are only approximate.

Source

Home made.

This recipe uses (among others)

	Chocolate ganache: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Hazelnut and chocolate biscuits, Flaky chocolate brioche, Little cakes with a chocolate and hazelnut centre, Chocolate Truffles, Two-coloured chocolate-orange tart, ... All
	Whole milk: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Celeriac soup with mustard, Pistachio confectioner's custard, Quiche filling mixture, Potimarron and leek soup, Gnocchi alla romana, ... All
	Liquid cream: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Pistachio tiramisu, Chocolate mousse with hazelnuts, Rustic chicken and mushroom pie, Beurre blanc sauce, Pan-fried scallops and chanterelles with Noilly Prat sauce, ... All
	Caster sugar: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Hazelnut and orange cake, Apricot blancmange, Piedmont pyramids, Melon with port sorbet, Sicilian Epiphany Pie, ... All

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