Sweet and sour lemon provides a sunny burst of yum in this elegant yet easy spring time lemon crème brûlée recipe.
Oh how I LOVE crème brûlée. The first time I had it was when my hubby and I enjoyed a complimentary stay at the Grand America hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. I loved the creamy custard and the crunchy caramelized crust. So, throughout the years, I’ve been on a mission to recreate different varieties of this amazing dessert–all of which work on the Trim Healthy Mama plan!
Lemon Crème Brûlée
This variety is a sunny spring time favorite–lemon crème brûlée. I love how bright and cheery this simple, elegant, easy-to-make dessert turned out. It tastes fresh and creamy, with that little bit of crunch from the caramelized crust on top.
More Crème Brûlée
This lemon crème brûlée recipe is delicious any time of the year, but it makes an excellent dessert especially in the spring, such as Easter time. Its bright yellow color (when using yellow food coloring–stick to natural to keep it healthy!) is so cheerful and reminiscent of the new growth (fresh flowers like daffodils or daisies–or new baby chicks!) that comes with the spring.
Lemon Crème Brûlée
Ingredients
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 lemons, zest only
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon
lemon extract OR 10 drops Young Living Lemon Vitality essential oil, optional - 2
drops yellow food coloring, optional - 2 tablespoons
Gentle Sweet or equivalent sweetener - 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup unsweeted almond or cashew milk
- ¼ teaspoon mineral salt
- granulated erythritol
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 °F. Place 6 crème brûlée ramekin dishes in a baking dish or two; set aside.
- In a 4 cup or larger measuring cut (you can use a bowl, but it's easier in a measuring cup because you'll be pouring it out later), whisk together the egg yolks, zest, extracts, and food coloring. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the cream, milk, sweetener, and salt over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until just beginning to bubble.
- Remove the cream mixture from the heat and slowly pour into the egg mixture with one hand while briskly whisking with your other hand.
- Pour the liquid into the ramekins until about ¾ full.
- Pour cold water into thebaking dish around the ramekins so the water rises about halway up the ramekin dishes.
- Pop into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes (give or take, varies based on size, shape, and depth of ramekins) or until mostly set. The center should still be a bit jiggly.
- Using a spatula, carefully remove the ramekins from the water and set on a cooling rack.
- Cool for about 20 minutes then cover with plastic wrap (be careful not to touch the surface of the custard) and refrigerate for 3 or more hours.
- Sprinkle ½ to 1 teaspoon erythritol over the top of each chilled crème brûlée. Melt and caramelize this sweetener with a torch until golden brown.
- Allow to cool an additional 10 or so minutes so the caramelization can harden into a crust.
- Garnish with lemon slices or strawberries if desired.
Hi! I ran across this recipe and it sounds good. The problem is I don’t have ramekin cups. Have you tried this recipe in a cake or pie tin? Or even muffin tins? I just don’t want to waste all those yummy ingredients! Thanks
Yes! When I make it just for my family, I put all of it in a glass 8 inch baking dish and just scoop it out for everyone. Makes less work!
Hi TJ, Erythritol is not in the ingredient list. Can Gentle Sweet or another sweetener be used on the top?
Hi, Cindy! Thanks for noticing that, I added it to the ingredients list. As for using Gentle Sweet or another sweetener, erythritol is what I found to best create that crusty, caramelized top layer that traditional creme brulee has. I tried several other things, but they mostly just melted or got gummy and didn’t turn to the hardened crusty layer like the erythritol did. You’re of course welcome to try other sweeteners and see how they go. If you find another one that hardens and crusts up, please let me know! Have a great day!
My daughter frequently asks for this. Obviously a hit!