Raspberry Crème Brûlée

Creme Brulee has been my favorite dessert for as long as I can remember and now it’s one of my kids’ favorite too. My daughter just turned 15 and wanted creme brulee for her birthday dessert. I decided to make it extra special by adding a layer of raspberry sauce to the bottom of the ramekin before adding the custard-like I saw in a Food Network recipe recently. I used my normal crème brûlée recipe and used a simple raspberry coulis. The creamy custard was wonderful with the sweet/tart raspberry sauce and the crisp bit of burnt sugar topping. YUM! This dessert was a big hit with my entire family–especially the birthday girl!

How to Make Raspberry Crème Brûlée

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle section of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Make the raspberry coulis by placing the raspberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar along with the lemon zest and cook until the sugar has dissolved, the berries have broken down completely and the mixture starts to thicken, about 10 minutes. Let cool it completely. Leave the sauce as is or strain it through a cheesecloth and a fine strainer if you prefer it without seeds. Set aside.

Combine 2 cups of cream, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Remove the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the pan, submerge the vanilla pod in the cream.  Bring the mixture to boil over medium heat then reduce heat to simmer and let steep for 15 minutes to infuse the flavors.

Meanwhile, place a silpat mat (or thin kitchen towel), in the bottom of a large rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Arrange 8  (4-5 oz) ramekins on the silpat mat. Pour or ladle a bit of raspberry coulis evenly in the bottom of each ramekin. Bring a large kettle of water to boil over high heat.

After the vanilla bean has steeped, stir in the remaining 2 cups of cream to cool the mixture. Whisk the yolks well in a large bowl. Add about 1 cup of the cream mixture into the yolks; whisk until combined; repeat with remaining cream and whisk until evenly colored and thoroughly combined. Strain through the fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher or bowl; discard the solids in the strainer. Carefully pour or ladle mixture in the ramekins, dividing it equally among them.

Carefully place the rimmed baking sheet with the ramekins on the oven rack; pour a kettle of boiling water into the baking pan, being careful not to splash water into the ramekins, until the water reaches two-thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the centers of the custards are just barely set and are no longer sloshy. A digital thermometer inserted in the centers should read 170-175 degrees, 30-35 minutes. Begin checking the temperature about 5 minutes before the recommended time.

Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Set the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet, cover them tightly with plastic wrap, and place them into the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours.

Uncover the ramekins, if condensation has collected on the custard surface, place a paper towel on the surface to soak up the mixture. Sprinkle the top of each ramekin with about a teaspoon of turbinado sugar; tilt and tap each ramekin for even coverage. Ignite the torch and caramelize the sugar carefully. Refrigerate uncovered, to re-chill, 20-30 minutes (but no longer), serve. Enjoy!