Creme Brulee

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The moment that you have all been waiting for, has finally arrived! I wish to present to you…..dairy-free Creme Brulee!!! Let’s all pause for a moment. Okay, for those of you who are not lactose intolerant, this may not be all that exciting. For those of us who drool over the rich, creamy desserts at neighboring tables in restaurants, this is a major accomplishment!Two white dishes with creme brulee topped with blackberries, with a white napkin and two spoons in the upper left corner.
If you are not looking for a dairy-free version, keep reading! You can easily substitute heavy cream for the coconut milk, since all I did was swap out the same amount of coconut milk for the cream in the original recipe. It really is that simple folks.

Looking down on two Creme Brulee topped with caramelized sugar and blackberries.

How to make Creme Brulee without Dairy

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Fill a large pot with an inch or two of water and bring to a boil.

In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, beat together egg yolks, 4 Tablespoons sugar, and pulp from one vanilla bean until thick and creamy.

Eggs, sugar and vanilla bean paste in a stainless steel bowl.

In a small saucepan over LOW heat, stir and heat coconut milk until it almost comes to a boil. Remove from heat.

Cream simmering in a saucepan.

Use a ladle to pour a small amount of heated milk into the egg yolk mixture. We do not want to make scrambled eggs. Pour in a second ladle of milk.

The hot coconut milk being whisked into the egg mixture in a stainless steel bowl.

Pour in remaining milk, and beat to combine.

Place mixture on top of the pot of boiling water. Reduce heat to simmer, and stir over simmering water until mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 3 – 4 minutes.

Creme Brulee mixture in a double boiler on the stove.

Remove mixture from heat and pour into one large shallow oven-proof dish, or four small ones.

Creme Brulee in four small ramekins on a silcone lined baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Creme Brulee baked on a silicone lined baking sheet.

Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or overnight.

Just before you are ready to serve, mix 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar with remaining 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar in a small bowl.

Sprinkle sugar mixture over chilled custard.

Chilled custard with sugar sprinkled on top.

Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar on top of the creme brulee.

A kitchen torch melting the sugars on top of the creme brulee.

Allow sugar to cool, and place in refrigerator for a few minutes until custard is set again.

A big spoonful of Creme Brulee hovering over the dessert in a ramekin topped with two blackberries.

This picture was taken about 5 minutes after I melted the sugar, so it looks a bit soft. If you place it back in the refrigerator and allow it to cool back down, it is just as thick and luscious as the real ones!

Our astrological Cancer friends are ruled by the moon, and I thought I would take this opportunity to try out a dairy-free creme brulee…since it reminds me of the moon. Well okay, maybe it was just an excuse to try out a new recipe! I don’t think anyone would complain about being forced to eat this for dessert.

Recipe Notes

For the vanilla bean: 

Simply slice thru the top of the vanilla bean, then use the side of the knife to scrape out the inside. I used everything that I scraped out of one vanilla bean to make this recipe.

vanilla bean cookingwithcurls.com

This is the kitchen torch that I used to melt the sugar.

cookingwithcurls.com torch

It’s not really for the kitchen, but it works perfectly.

Apparently I do not own a double-boiler, crazy right? I thought I owned everything you could possibly use in a kitchen. Then I remembered seeing chef’s on TV use a stainless steel bowl, so I gave it a try. It worked perfectly, and I don’t have to store any additional pans!

Creme Brulee mixture in a double boiler on the stove.

Please remember that I am not a trained chef. I just get an idea in my head and go for it. Sometimes it works, and other times it does not. If I can make this recipe then trust me, you can too!

More recipes in this Cancer meal:

Enjoy!!

Two white dishes with creme brulee topped with blackberries, with a white napkin and two spoons in the upper left corner.

Creme Brulee

Rich and creamy Creme Brulee, with or without the dairy. It's the perfect dessert to impress your guests any time of year!
5 from 3 votes
Print Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Keyword: dairy-free dessert recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Chill: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 456kcal
Author: Lisa Johnson

Equipment

  • Kitchen Torch

Ingredients

  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar divided
  • 1 whole vanilla bean scraped
  • 2 ½ cups full fat coconut milk shake before using
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • berries for garnish optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Fill a large pot with an inch or two of water and bring to a boil.
  • In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, beat together egg yolks, 4 Tablespoons sugar, and pulp from vanilla bean until thick and creamy.
  • In a small saucepan over LOW heat, stir and heat coconut milk until it almost comes to a boil. Remove from heat.
  • Use a ladle to pour a small amount of heated milk into the egg yolk mixture. We do not want to make scrambled eggs. Pour in a second ladle of milk.
  • Pour in remaining milk, and beat to combine.
  • Place mixture on top of the pot of boiling water. Reduce heat to simmer, and stir over simmering water until mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 3 - 4 minutes.
  • Remove mixture from heat and pour into one large shallow oven-proof dish, or four small ones.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
  • Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or overnight.
  • Just before you are ready to serve, mix 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar with remaining 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar in a small bowl.
  • Sprinkle sugar mixture over chilled custard.
  • Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar on top of the creme brulee.
  • Allow sugar to cool, and place in refrigerator for a few minutes until custard is set again.

Notes

  • If you do not have a kitchen torch, you can place under the broiler in your oven for a minute or two to melt the sugar. Watch very closely, or it will burn!
  • You can substitute equal amounts heavy cream for the coconut milk if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Cholesterol: 277mg | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 339mg | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 368IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 5mg

 

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37 Comments

  1. My husband’s fav dessert is creme brulee and I only make a chocolate one, I’ll try this for him, Thanks for sharing at Sat. Dishes! Pinned.

  2. This sounds delish! I have to try it. Thanks for bringing it over to Saturday Dishes.

    Wishes for tasty dishes,
    Linda @ Tumbleweed Contessa

  3. This looks absolutely amazing! I love Creme Brulee, it’s become one of my favorite desserts, so I’m really excited to have come across this recipe. It’ll be great to be able to make it for friends and family who are lactose intolerant. Great share!

  4. Ha! My husband has a Benzomatic….I keep telling him “I gunna steal it!” (he has hidden it). I need a torch…I have torch-envy, apparently 🙂
    Great job with these being dairy free. I have a family member that ALWAYS stumps me when it comes to desserts. I will remeber this one, for sure!!

  5. This looks wonderful! I hope you will come share at this week’s From the Farm Blog Hop hosted by 6 great blogs!

    Lisa
    Fresh Eggs Daily

  6. I have yet to try any creme brulee-dairy or dairy free. I have been dying to try it! Thanks for sharing. I actually ended up clicking on both of your recipes at Kathe’s blog hop and am pining both. They look so good!

  7. Creme Brulee is my favorite – but I have never attempted to make it! YUM

    Thanks again for linking up to Super Sunday – See you next week!

  8. Holy NOM NOM! That looks divine! Thanks a bunch for the share! Found you via Whimsy Wednesday at the NY Melrose Fam linky!

  9. I have always wanted to make something that I could “torch” I even asked for one for my birthday. I will have to remember this recipe and give it a try! Lovely looking dessert!

    Thanks for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link party! So glad you are here!

  10. Delish! I will be sharing this on FB tomorrow! Thanks so much for partying with us this week 🙂

  11. You’ve got a blowtorch!!!! I’ve been trying to get a blowtorch for months but always get distracted by other kitchen gadgets lol. Your creme brulee looks FANTASTIC, by the way! 🙂 Yummy and perfectly bruleed!. Thank you so much for linking up with me this week at Tasty Tuesdays! I’ve pinned this & shared it with my followers! Please be sure to stop back by the party and check out some of the other links!

  12. This looks so good! I saw your link on a linky party and I just had to click on it! I’ve had creme brulee once in my life and it was divine! I’m stopping by from Tatertots & Jello (#26 Easy & Flavorful Italian Chicken #37 Favorite Crock Pot Recipes) Have a great weekend!

  13. I have never had Creme Brulee, but have always wanted to try it! I have also wanted to own and try out one of those torches!

    Thank you for linking this to the In and Out of the Kitchen LInk party. I will be sharing it as Big’s favorite in my Top 10 Favorites from the In and Out of the Kitchen Link party.

    Thanks for sharing!

  14. I love creme brulee and try to stay away from dairy for health reasons (and am a bit intolerant of straight milk too!) so this recipe is perfect. Can’t wait to try it.
    I’ve chosen it as one of my favorites from last week’s Project Inspired party.

    Nancy

  15. Coconut milk sounds delicious as a milk substitute in this dish. Can’t get over how authentic it looks. Thanks for sharing your creme brulee on foodie friday.

  16. G’day Lisa, this looks so yum, true!
    Dairy free…bonus too; viewing as part of Food Friends Friday Party too!
    Cheers! Joanne

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