Lemon Crème Brûlée
This lemon crème brûlée steeps heavy cream with lemon zest, bakes it into a silky custard in a water bath, then finishes with a torched sugar crust that cracks under your spoon, ready after a few hours of chilling. The lemon here is subtle by design, just enough to keep the rich custard from feeling heavy, letting the contrast between crackly sugar and silky cream do most of the work. Serve it after our Persian-style herb stew with dried lime for a dinner that goes from savory-citrus to sweet-citrus without missing a beat.
Quick answer: Heavy cream steeped with lemon zest, baked into a silky custard in a water bath, then finished with a torched sugar crust that cracks under your spoon. Ready after a few hours of chilling.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Heat the heavy cream with lemon zest in a saucepan over medium heat until just steaming, do not boil. Remove from heat and let steep 10 minutes.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale. Slowly whisk in the warm cream in a thin stream to temper the eggs without scrambling them.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the zest, then whisk in the lemon juice and vanilla.
Divide among 6 ramekins. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and fill the dish with hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake 35-40 minutes, until the custards are just set but still slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from the water bath and cool, then refrigerate at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Just before serving, sprinkle a thin, even layer of sugar over each custard and caramelize with a kitchen torch until deep golden and crackly. Serve immediately.
Questions people actually ask
You can broil the custards briefly instead, watch them closely since they can burn fast under a broiler. A torch gives more even control, but broiling works in a pinch.
It insulates the custard from direct oven heat, cooking it gently and evenly so it sets into a silky texture instead of curdling or getting rubbery at the edges.
Yes, bake and chill the custards up to 2 days ahead, then torch the sugar topping just before serving so it stays crackly.
The oven was likely too hot, or the water bath didn't have enough water. Keep the oven at 325°F (163°C) and make sure the water comes well up the sides of the ramekins.
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