Chocolate Creme Brulee

This simple chocolate creme brulee will surely impress your guests for your special occasions! The rich and smooth chocolate filling melts in the mouth as a crispy caramelized sugar layer delicately breaks. A must-try dessert for all chocolate lovers!

Before I created this recipe, I was wondering what kind of dessert I should make to add to the Valentine's Day desserts, such as creme brulee, chocolate truffles, and Tiramisu. Then I thought... "What about chocolate creme brulee? That sounds so romantic!"

I ended up adjusting my classic creme brulee recipe quite a lot to make this chocolate version A Perfection. It is full of rich chocolate flavor yet not too heavy at all. The silky & creamy chocolate filling and the thin layer of caramel on top are an amazing combination that exceeded my expectations. I had to admit I cleaned up 2 dishes all by myself!

This might be the easiest yet fanciest chocolate dessert ever. And you'll be surprised to know how easy it is to make! I'm sharing the step-by-step instructions and essential tips so that you can make it successful at home. 

Let's get started.

📌 What is Crème Brûlée?

Classic creme brûlée is a baked creamy vanilla custard filling with a thin layer of caramelized sugar on top. It is one of the most beloved classic French desserts of all time. 

What is chocolate creme brulee?

Chocolate creme brulee is made by adding melted chocolate to the basic creme brulee base. A flavor of chocolate adds a richer, slightly creamier texture that is unlike any other chocolate dessert. Not so puddingy like chocolate creme custard yet not airy like chocolate mousse. A perfectly-silky-smooth goodness. 

📌 6 Ingredients to Make Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Chocolate custard filling

• Dark chocolate: I used 60% dark chocolate. I highly recommend getting good quality chocolate to get the best results. Check the tip section in this post to see more details of what type of chocolate to use.
• Heavy cream: Heavy cream is essential for creme brulee to create a rich custard base. You can also use heavy whipping cream.
• Milk: Use whole milk for the filling to set properly and give a richer flavor. I balanced the consistency of chocolate creme brulee by increasing the amount of milk and decreasing the amount of heavy cream from my original vanilla creme brulee recipe to prevent the filling from getting too rich and heavy.
• Vanilla: I highly recommend adding vanilla beans even to chocolate creme brulee. It adds an amazing layer of vanilla flavor that makes it more exceptional. My personal favorite is Madagascar vanilla beans which have a sweet, exotic smell. You can find so many kinds online, such as Amazon. If you can not get one, using vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract can be another option. 
• Sugar: I recommend using white sugar, such as granulated sugar or caster sugar. 
• Egg yolks: For creme brulee, yolks are essential because they create a rich flavor and a firm enough yet melty texture. Save the egg whites for different recipes, such as macarons, Swiss meringue buttercream, Italian meringue, etc.

Caramel on top

• Sugar: I recommend using white sugar, such as granulated sugar or caster sugar. Turbinado sugar and demerara sugar are also preferably used because of their richer flavors, but I find granulated sugar does a great job.

📌 The Basic Tools You'll Need

• Ramekins: One batch of the recipe is enough for 4 5-inch (12 cm) shallow ramekins.
• Baking sheet tray or large baking pan: We'll place the ramekins on top of the tray and bake the creme brulee with a water bath. This is an essential method for creme brulee to deliver the heat to the filling very gently to make an incredibly smooth texture.
• Saucepan: Prepare 2 of them to heat cream and milk and for simmering water.
• Kitchen blowtorch: The tool is going to burn the sugar on top to finish the dessert. 
• Large bowl
• Whisk
• Fine mesh strainer

📌 How to Make Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Preparation:

Prepare hot simmering water to bake creme brulee with a water bath. Preheat the oven to 300ºF (149ºC).

Chocolate custard filling base

1. Melt dark chocolate with a double boiler. 
2. In a medium saucepan, add heavy cream, milk, and vanilla beans (Scrape off the seeds inside and add them and the empty pod). Heat them at medium heat until it starts simmering gently. Pay close attention to the pot so that the liquids are not going to start boiling. We do not want the liquid to evaporate too much. Swirl the pot toward the end to ensure the temperature is even.

3. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until evenly mixed. Do not whip yolks to prevent them from containing too many air bubbles, which leads to a less silky texture. 
4. Pour some of the hot cream mixture into the melted chocolate and mix it well with a spatula until evenly blended. Add some of the liquid again and repeat the process until you finish adding all the cream mixture. ( I divided into 5 times.)

5. Pour some of the chocolate liquid into the yolk mixture and mix it with a whisk. Try not to mix vigorously to prevent them from containing too many air bubbles. Pour the rest of the chocolate liquid and mix. Scrape off the bottom and the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure it's evenly incorporated.
6. Strain it with a fine mesh sieve to discard the vanilla pod and anything not-so-smooth. Pour it into ramekins equally. When you see a lot of air bubbles floating on the surface, pop them by gently heating them with a torch.

Bake them.

7. Lay a thin cloth or paper towel on a tray so that the heat gets delivered more gently. Place it on a rack in the preheated oven, and place the filled ramekins onto it. Pour the hot water up to about half to ⅔ of the height of the ramekins. Bake at 300ºF (149ºC) for 20 -  25 minutes until it giggles like jello or custard pudding.
8. Take them out carefully and cool them on a wire rack. Chill them in the fridge for more than a few hours. 

Caramel on top

9. Spread sugar over the filling evenly and burn it with a torch to create a thin layer of caramel crisp. Wait for about a few minutes for the caramel and filling to cool down. As an option, top it with fresh berries, mint, or any ingredient you desire and enjoy!

📌 The Success Tips

The type of chocolate

I highly recommend using good-quality chocolate to get the best texture and flavor. Avoid low-quality chocolate chips with a lot of additional ingredients. 

The chocolate I use today is with 60% cacao content. If you want to use chocolate with much higher or lower cacao content, you may want to adjust the amount of sugar. Also, note that by using chocolate with higher cacao content, the filling gets slightly thicker after it cools down and the opposite happens when you use chocolate with much less cacao content. Adjust the baking time slightly in that case. I recommend trying chocolate with 60% cacao or something close to the range first and see if you like it and adjust the amount next time if you like.

The baking dish

For creme brulee, I like to use wide and shallow ramekins so we can enjoy the thin layer of crispy caramel on each bite. The filling gets cooked faster with them as well. 

You can also use ramekins of different sizes. Just ensure to adjust the baking time accordingly. The bigger they are, the longer it usually takes to bake them.

The chocolate filling

Be careful not to spill the hot water onto the filling in ramekins. It'll affect the consistency of the baked filling.

The baking time

Adjust the time accordingly, depending on the oven, the size of the ramekins, and the thickness of the filling in the ramekins. The filling can get cooked a lot faster or longer, depending on them, so be careful not to rely on the baking time too much. Always knock the sides of the ramekins gently to check the consistency.

The caramelized sugar

Be careful not to spread too much sugar since the thick caramel feels too crunchy and unpleasant.

Do not let the caramel sit for too long to prevent it from starting to sweat and lose its crispiness.

Can I make creme brulee without a torch?

Although an oven's broiler and heated spoon are often introduced as other methods, they never worked great for me. The result was not nearly close to the one with a blow torch. I highly recommend investing in a torch and saving yourself a lot more time and effort. There are a variety of options for a small inexpensive torch online if you can't find it at local stores.

Can I make this dessert without the caramel on top?

Yes! Enjoy it with a drop of whipped cream or any of your favorite toppings. The filling itself makes a beautiful dessert.

📌 How to store it

Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap after it's cooled completely. Caramelize the sugar on top right before serving as the caramel starts getting soft as it sits.

Store them in the fridge for up to four days. I recommend consuming it within 1 to 2 days for the best taste.

Can I freeze chocolate creme brulee?

It's possible, but I felt it lost the smoothness very slightly. I wouldn't do that unless it is really necessary. Thaw the frozen filling overnight in the fridge and caramelize the sugar on top right before serving.

📌 Explore More Chocolate desserts

If you loved this chocolate creme brulee, also try these classic chocolate dessert recipes!

• Chocolate Truffles
• Eclairs
• Opera Cake
• Chocolate sponge Cake
• Classic Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Mirror Glaze

 📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!

Watch the video to learn how to make the chocolate crème brûlée visually and get a deeper understanding of all the processes!

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📌 Printable Recipe

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