Blueberry Crème Brûlée

Delicious blueberry crème brûlée is layered with homemade blueberry jam then filled with rich vanilla custard and finished with the classic caramelized sugar topping–the perfect summer dessert.

My son is turning 17! Time flies by so quickly because it seems like he was this little just a minute ago. He wanted French toast with strawberry sauce for his birthday breakfast and he wanted to go out to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. He normally loves crème brûlée for his birthday dessert but this year I made it a bit more special by making this blueberry crème brûlée. The fresh blueberry jam is super quick and simple to make and tasted so delicious with the creamy custard.

How to Make Blueberry Crème Brûlée

Make the blueberry jam by placing the blueberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar then cook until the sugar has dissolved, the berries have broken down completely and the mixture reduced its liquid and starts to thicken, about 13-15 minutes. Stir in zest; set aside to cool completely.

Spoon the cooled blueberry jam evenly on the bottom of each ramekin.

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

Make the custard by combining 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 a boil over medium heat then reduce heat to a simmer and let steep for 15 minutes to infuse the flavors.

Meanwhile, place a Silpat mat (or thin kitchen towel), on the bottom of a large-rimmed baking sheet. Arrange 8 (4-5 oz) ramekins on the Silpat mat.  Next, 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 the mixture into the ramekins, dividing it equally among them, being careful not to disrupt the blueberry jam.

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, for about 2 hours.

Set the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet, cover them tightly with plastic wrap, and place them in 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 kitchen torch and caramelize the sugar carefully. Serve immediately or refrigerate uncovered, to re-chill if desired, 20-30 minutes (but no longer), serve. Enjoy!