Crock Pot Creme Brulee

Submitted by Nif_H

"It sounds strange, but the constant low heat is a terrific way to cook this dish. It's a nice and low stress way to cook this classic French food. Enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 5 large egg yolks
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream (whipping) or 2 cups 18% coffee creamer
• 1⁄2 teaspoon real vanilla, good-quality (scrape the seeds out of the pod, you can also use vanilla bean paste)
• sugar, for sprinkling on top

directions

1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk in the cream and vanilla.
2. Divide among 4-6 small ramekins, or 1 large one, and put it/them in your CrockPot. Pour hot water around them so that it comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or until set but still slightly jiggly in the middle. Take them out and let cool. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, until nice and cold.
3. Sprinkle an even layer of sugar over each dish and caramelize with a torch or transfer to a cookie sheet and place under the broiler in the oven for about 2 minutes, just until the sugar is caramelized and golden. Turn the sheet around if you need to to help them caremelize evenly. Refrigerate again, or just let them sit on the countertop while you eat dinner or make coffee, just until the sugar is set and crackly.

Reviews

[JLEAH]

I'd this five stars based on flavor; it seems to me at least part of what is being rated in this recipe is the technique and that's the reason for the four star rating.<br/><br/>The positive: super easy to assemble (I had my 12 y/o do it) and cook. Use of the crock pot was definitely successful in setting the custard properly, and the flavor was excellent.<br/><br/>The negative: I am surprised others didn't have this issue, but since the crock pot was covered condensation from the lid dripped down into the custards and resulted in a dimpled and uneven top surface. Next time I might try putting a piece of foil over the ramekins before covering with the lid to see if it takes care of this problem. <br/><br/>The neutral: Although this was successful, I could only fit five 5 ramekins into my 8 qt oval crock pot. While it's certainly true that popping them in the crock pot was extremely easy, I've never found the bain-marie technique of cooking creme brulee in the oven (where I can do up to 10 at a time in a 9x13 pan) to be the problem, it's always about how fussy the custard preparation is. I'll probably try this again in the crock pot to see if the foil over the top is successful, and because it's always good to have a few tricks up your sleeve. But I'm also going to try this at 325F for 35 minutes in a traditional bain-marie. If that works, this SUPER-EASY custard recipe is likely to become my staple, but I'll be more likely to cook it in the oven than the crock-pot.

 

[Buzymomof3]

WOW WOW WOW. How easy was this! I agree, my ears perked up at crock-pot and Creme Brulee. I LOVE Creme Brulee. It was a cinch to put together and pop in the crock-pot. My ramekins are oval and a tad larger than normal, so I could only cook 3, but that wasn't a problem, I just left them in about another 20 minutes. I just can't get over how easy it was and foolproof. I'll do pictures later, 2 are in the fridge for dessert tonight, one my son and I had to taste now. Will definitely make again, and again, and again. Thanks SO MUCH Nif!! Made for ZWT8 trip to France.

 

[Mitchell A.]

Wonderful texture and flavor. Place a clean kitchen towel over the slow cooker before putting on the lid, to catch drips.

 

[Blake C.]

This recipe bombed horribly for me. The texture was glumpy, it ended up watery inside, and everything was wrong. The taste was there slightly, but it otherwise bombed. What I believe went wrong, was the recipe mentioned "whipping" with the heavy cream, and being in Australia, it lead me to believe i had to whip my thickened cream, this was wrong. I will attempt this recipe again at my own discretion, and i suggest no one else make this 'mistake'.

 

[twissis]

Made for ZWT-8 so I could finally face my fear of making Creme Brulee & failing. When I saw your recipe w/the words Crock Pot & Creme Brulee in the recipe title & further saw you describe the method as "low stress", I was well & truly hooked. My crock pot is my trusted friend & your recipe made facing fear at least a little care-free. The easy prep & cooking method yielded a perfect custard & I was thrilled. So my only doubt was could I manage to caramelize the sugar topped ramekins in my convection oven? I did them 1 at a time, afraid to try doing all 4 at once & failing in the end-game. W/ea 1, I got more bold & a better result as you will notice in the pic. I feel suddenly "kitchen-empowered" again! Thx for making that happen & sharing this "twissis-proof" recipe w/us. *Edited To Add* - btw, it has the perfect texture & tastes wonderful too! :-)