Baileys Crème Brûlée

Baileys crème brûlée is a deliciously creamy, baked custard, flavoured with Baileys or another Irish cream liqueur.

It has a crisp brûlée topping, so imagine breaking the top with a spoon and then sinking it into the delicate custard. It's absolute heaven!

It might sound like it's difficult to make, but this dessert has just four ingredients. It takes just a few minutes to prepare, then the oven does the rest.

Perfect for a treat or for make ahead entertaining.

Bon appétit!   

Although it has other names, such as burned cream or trinity cream, there is something so comforting about this classic French dessert and it is really so simple too.

For a start, there are only a handful of ingredients and you don't need much more than a bowl, saucepan and whisk to make it.

It's great for entertaining as it's can be made in advance and left in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

There are also lots of ways to customise this dish too, from different flavours to what you serve with it, so you can keep all of your guests happy!

For me, the best bit is when the spoon breaks through the crisp topping and hits the creamy custard. That's definitely a moment worth savouring.

Jump to:

• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Baking Time
• 🥗 Serve with
• Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• Storage
• FAQs
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

• Eggs - large, free range egg yolks.
• Sugar - I've used caster sugar, (superfine), for the custard and light brown sugar for the topping. Dark soft brown sugar isn't suitable for this.
• Cream - double or heavy cream that is 30% fat.
• Baileys - Baileys liqueur or another Irish cream liqueur.

See recipe card for quantities.

🍽 Equipment

• large bowl
• medium saucepan
• whisk
• 6 ramekins or 8 shallow dishes
• 2 deep oven trays
• measuring jug - optional

🔪 Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F / 130 FAN / Gas 2.

Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a mixing bowl with the caster sugar.

Whisk for 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and frothy.

💭 Top Tip

• Refrigerate the eggs for 30 minutes before separating them as this makes the yolk firmer and less likely to break.
• Separate the eggs and use 2 ramekins to do one at a time then transfer to the mixing bowl or another bowl. This means that if you do have a bad egg it won't contaminate the eggs you have already separated.

Put the cream in the saucepan over a low to medium heat.

Bring to simmer then remove from the heat.

Leave to cool for a few minutes.

Whisk in a small amount of cream into the egg yolks then gradually pour in the rest, whisking all the time.

Stir in the Baileys.

Put the ramekins or dishes into the roasting tins and pour hot tap water into the base to come halfway up the dishes.

This well help the custard to cook evenly.

Divide the custard mixture between the dishes.

💭 Top Tip

• If you want your Baileys crème brûlée to have a smooth baked custard then use a metal spoon to scrape of the bubbles from the custard mix and discard.
• Pour the custard mixture into a jug for easy pouring or use a ladle.

⏲️ Baking Time

Bake ramekins for an hour and shallow dishes for 30 minutes, or until the custard is just set.

Remove from the water bath, leave to cool then refrigerate for an hour.

When you are ready to serve sprinkle the top of the custard with the brown sugar.

Use a blow torch to melt and caramelise the sugar. I tend to go from side to side, top to bottom, rotate the dish and repeat.

If you don't have a blowtorch set the grill, (broiler), to a high setting and grill the sugar topping. Keep an eye on it the whole time to avoid burning.

Allow to sugar to harden for a few minutes before serving.

💭 Top Tip

• If you want to invest in a blow torch then don't be tempted to buy a culinary version. In my experience they are often overpriced and one from a DIY store is much easier and cheaper to use.

Serve with a teaspoon and enjoy!

🥗 Serve with

• Shrewbury biscuits - or other plain crisp biscuit.
• Fresh raspberries or strawberries.
• A dollop of clotted cream for complete indulgence!

Substitutions

• Sugar - use superfine sugar for the custard topping if you prefer.
• Cream - use half milk and half cream instead.

📖 Variations

• Classic - let half a vanilla bean steep in the hot cream for 10 minutes then scrape out the seeds and return to the cream.
• Lavender - let some sprigs of lavender infuse in the hot cream for 10 minutes then strain.
• Boozy - add 3 tablespoons of brandy, Grand Marnier, dark rum, or a different cream liqueur
• Coffee - add 2 teaspoons of instant coffee powder to the cream before heating.
• Chocolate - stir 80 g of chocolate pieces into the hot cream and stir until dissolved.

Storage

• Refrigerator - cover and refrigerate before adding the brûlée sugar topping for 3 days. You can brûlée the top up to 2 hours before you want to eat it but it can lose its crispness if it's left any longer.
• Freezer  - wrap each dish in clingfilm and freeze without the topping for up to a month.

FAQs

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

More desserts

• Baileys Sabayon or Baileys Zabaglione
• Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding
• Lavender Crème Brûlée
• Tarte au Citron

More French desserts

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended'
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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