Our chocolate crème brûlée is the ultimate chocolate dessert! It’s surprisingly simple to make, and you can make it up to three days ahead, making it perfect for entertaining!
Our family is obsessed with this recipe for chocolate crème brûlée. It’s indulgent, rich, creamy, and incredibly delicious. If you love classic crème brûlée, you must try this chocolate version. And if you are hunting for Valentine’s Day desserts or something perfect for date night, this is it! Trust me.
The other thing I love about crème brûlée is that you can make them in advance (up to three days!). For more chocolate desserts, take a look at these incredible chocolate truffles, our popular brownies, or these chocolate cookies.
Key Ingredients
- Cream: This chocolate crème brûlée is intended to be rich and creamy, so I use heavy whipping cream. Heavy cream is fine, too. If you are outside the US, double cream will do the trick.
- Sugar: Plain granulated sugar is perfect for this recipe. You’ll use it for the custard and sprinkle it on top for the caramelized sugar crust. I’ve also used flavored sugars for the top before, with espresso sugar being my favorite.
- Egg Yolks: The base of crème brûlée is an egg custard, so you’ll need egg yolks. You can save the whites for another recipe.
- Chocolate: I use bittersweet chocolate, but any dark chocolate should do the trick (60% cacao or higher is best).
- Vanilla: I love the ease of vanilla extract for this. If I’m making vanilla crème brûlée, I might reach for a vanilla bean or vanilla paste, but since the primary flavor of this one is chocolate, plain vanilla extract is perfect!
How to Make Chocolate Creme Brulee
This decadent chocolate dessert is easier to make than you might think. Chocolate crème brûlée is a two-part process: first, you’ll create a luscious chocolate custard, and then, you will gently bake it to perfection.
The custard is a simple mixture of heated cream and sugar whisked into egg yolks. Don’t worry, I guide you through tempering the eggs so they don’t scramble in the recipe below. It’s the same technique used for banana pudding and banana cream pie. And if you get a few lumps? No problem! We’ll strain the mixture later, so no one will ever know.
Once the custard is smooth, it gets whisked into melted chocolate and divided between ramekins. To ensure a silky-smooth texture, we’ll bake the custards in a water bath, just like I do when making a cheesecake.
After baking, the crème brûlée needs to chill in the fridge for at least two hours. But here’s the best part: you can make this dessert up to 3 days in advance!
When you’re ready to serve, simply sprinkle the chilled crème brûlée with sugar and caramelize it with a culinary torch or under the broiler (tips for both methods are in the recipe).
Perfect Chocolate Creme Brulee
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our chocolate crème brûlée is the ultimate chocolate dessert! This recipe can be made up to 3 days ahead, making it perfect for entertaining. When adding the hot cream to the eggs, remember to pour slowly to prevent the mixture from scrambling (but don’t worry if a few bits solidify—we’ll strain it later!). To achieve that perfect caramelized top, you’ll need a culinary torch or use our tips for caramelizing them under the broiler below the recipe.
You Will Need
2 cups (470ml) heavy cream
1/2 cup (100g) sugar, plus more for serving
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 large egg yolks
3 ounces (85g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces, about 1/2 cup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
- Prepare Creme Brulee
1Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Place six small ramekins (5 to 6 ounces each) into a large roasting pan or baking dish. Fill a kettle or saucepan with water to boil later on.
2Add the cream, half of the sugar (1/4 cup), and the salt to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring gently. Remove from the heat.
3Place the chopped chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl, but reserve 1 tablespoon to add at the end. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring well after each, until just melted. Stir in the reserved chocolate until smooth.
4In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar (1/4 cup) until well blended.
5While whisking, slowly stream approximately half of the hot cream into the eggs. Then, switch from whisking the eggs to whisking the liquid in the saucepan, and slowly pour the tempered eggs with half of the cream back into the saucepan.
6Now, while whisking, slowly pour the custard into the melted chocolate. Whisk in vanilla, then strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, removing any lumps.
7Bring the water to a boil (either in a kettle or saucepan). You will need 6 to 8 cups.
8Place the roasting pan with the ramekins in the oven. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of each ramekin.
9Ladle the chocolate custard into the ramekins so that they are approximately 3/4 full.
10Bake the crème brûlée until just set in the middle (the center should still wobble slightly), 25 to 30 minutes.
11Remove the ramekins from the water bath and wipe them dry. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
- Serving
1Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. Just before serving, evenly sprinkle the surface with a thin layer of sugar (about 1 tablespoon each).
2Using a culinary torch, melt and caramelize the sugar. Allow the sugar cool and harden before serving the crème brûlée.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Make ahead and storing: You can prepare and refrigerate the crème brûlée for up to 3 days. I cover them with plastic wrap so they do not pick up any smells inside the fridge. When serving, remove the ramekins from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving them, add your sugar, and caramelize the top.
- No microwave: Place the chocolate and 2/3 cup of the cream in a heat-proof bowl (glass or metal works well) set over a saucepan with an inch or two of barely simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Allow the chocolate to melt slowly, stirring occasionally (it should take 5 to 6 minutes). Remove it from the heat and stir until it’s smooth and glossy.
- No culinary torch: Preheat the broiler, sprinkle the tops of the crème brûlée with one tablespoon of sugar, and then place them onto a sheet pan. Slide them under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sugar melts and caramelizes. Watch closely! Remove from the oven and let the sugar cool and harden before serving.
- This recipe was inspired by Mastering and Craft, Baking and Pastry, Culinary Institute of America.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
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So so good! My first time making any sort of creme brûlée ever and it was perfect! My husband loves creme brûlée and I love chocolate so this will be a staple in our home from here on in! So easy to make too!
So, I just put these in the oven, but I realized that I never used the vanilla. When are we supposed to use it? Did I miss it in the instructions?
Hi Steve, We are sorry about that. We missed the vanilla in the recipe instructions. This has now been fixed. You can whisk in the vanilla before straining and dividing between ramekins. If you missed the vanilla, don’t worry, the creme brulee will still taste great.
Wow……what a great recipe…….much thanks!
Oh. My. You guys are over the top…in a good way.
Wendi! Thank you! I suppose this isn’t the best post for those who are getting ready for pool wear, but we did it anyway 🙂