You need to try this lemon crème brûlée with a hidden surprise.
The crisp topping gives way to a creamy luscious lemon custard and at the bottom you will find a buttery Biscoff biscuit base.
Easy to make and perfect for make ahead entertaining, this is so refreshing after a rich main course.
Bon appétit!
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My husband has always loved French crème brûlée, even before we lived in France and always chooses it for dessert if we go out.
Over the years I have been experimenting with different flavours, starting with a lavender crème brûlée, strawberry crème brûlée, coffee crème brûlée and a rather naughty, but delicious Bailey's crème brûlée.
The flavour combinations are endless, but I had another naughty thought. What about combining this classic French burnt cream with my favourite cheesecake base?
In France, the biscuit selection in the shops is very different, and the humble digestive is nowhere to be seen, so it was lotus Biscoff biscuits which formed the base for many a cheesecake. The slightly spicy cinnamon flavour goes really well with refreshing lemon and gives this classic French dessert a bit of a twist.
Of course, you can also leave the biscuit base out altogether or use any biscuit you prefer too.
❤️ Why you will love this dish
- Great for making ahead.
- Easy to customise.
- Individual portions for easy serving.
- Simple to make.
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🥘 Ingredients
- Sugar - the best sugar for the crunchy brûlée topping is granulated or regular sugar. Caster sugar (superfine), is normally used for the custard but, as it will melt easily in the hot cream, you can use granulated for this too.
- Lemon zest - you will need unwaxed lemons for using the zest and each lemon will vary in flavour. Start with the zest of two lemons and you may need to add a little more to get the balance right, so have an extra lemon handy.
- Biscuits - speculoos or lotus biscoff are now available in most supermarkets.
- Cream - this is double or heavy cream.
The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.
🍽 Equipment
- medium bowl
- small saucepan
- whisk
- 6 ramekins
- large deep oven tray
- measuring jug - optional
- blow torch - optional
- food processor/rolling pin
- microplane zester/grater
🔪 Instructions
Break up the biscuits roughly into halves by hand and then pulse in a food processor until they reach the crumb stage.
Alternatively, put them in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Transfer to a bowl.
Melt the butter in a saucepan or in the microwave and mix with the crumbs. The mixture will look like wet sand.
Divide the mixture between the six ramekins and press down in an even layer using the back of a spoon.
Put the ramekins in the freezer while you make the custard.
Zest the lemons.
Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F / 130 FAN / Gas 2.
Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a mixing bowl with 50 grams of the sugar.
Whisk for 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and frothy.
Put the cream in the saucepan over a low to medium heat. Bring to simmer then remove and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Don't skip this part as if the custard is too hot it will disturb the biscuit layer.
Whisk in a small amount of cream into the egg yolks then gradually pour in the rest, whisking all the time.
Stir in the lemon zest and check the taste. Add more lemon zest if necessary.
Put the dishes into the roasting tins and pour hot tap water into the base to come halfway up the dishes. This helps the custards to cook gently and evenly.
Divide the custard mixture between the dishes. I find that it's easier to do this by transferring the mixture to a jug first.
⏲️ Baking Time
Bake the lemon crème brûlée for an hour, or until the custard is just set.
Remove from the water bath, leave to cool then refrigerate for the minimum of an hour.
Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before serving.
Divide the sugar between the ramekins and use a blow torch to caramelise the sugar. Wait a few minutes for it to harden before serving.
If you do this too far in advance the caramel topping will become soft.
💭 Top tip
- If you don't have a blow torch peheat the grill or broiler to its highest setting. Put the ramekins on a tray and grill until the sugar caramelises.
- Watch them the whole time and remove as soon as they are done. Remove from the tray and allow to cool. You may need to pop them back into the fridge for a few minutes.
Serve on a plate with a spoon on the side.
🥗 Serve with
Some fresh fruit is always a nice garnish and raspberries or blueberries go particularly well with lemon.
Try serving some homemade biscuits on the side.
🥙 Substitutions
- Biscuits - ginger biscuits are perfect or you can use digestives, graham crackers or hobnobs.
📖 Variations
- Leave out the biscuit layer if you prefer.
- Zest - try using lime, orange or pink grapefruit zest
🍣 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.
🍱 Prepare in Advance
- Make up to 3 days in advance and store covered in the fridge without the topping.
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 like this
- Chocolate Bavarois
- Strawberry Crème Brûlée
- Tarte au Citron
- Lavender Crème Brûlée
- Lime Posset
- Bailey's Sabayon
- Bailey's Crème Brûlée
- Coffee Crème Brûlée
- Chocolate Delice
- Chocolate Mousse
📋 Recipe
Lemon Crème Brûlée
Equipment
- Large bowl
- medium saucepan
- whisk
- 6 ramekins
- 1 deep oven tray
- measuring jug - optional
- blow torch - optional
Ingredients
- 600 ml cream double
- 4 egg yolks
- 100 g sugar granulated, divided into 2
- 50 g butter
- 2 zest of lemons you may need more zest to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g biscoff biscuits
Instructions
- Break up the biscuits into halves by hand and then pulse in a food processor until they reach the crumb stage. Alternatively, put them in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Transfer to a bowl.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan or in the microwave and mix with the crumbs.
- Divide the mixture between the six ramekins and press down in an even layer using the back of a spoon.
- Put the ramekins in the freezer while you make the custard.
- Zest the lemons.
- Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F / 130 FAN / Gas 2.
- Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a mixing bowl with 50g of the sugar.
- Whisk for 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and frothy.
- Put the cream in the saucepan over a low to medium heat. Bring to simmer then remove and leave to cool for 10 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 lemon zest and check the taste. Add more lemon zest if necessary.
- Put the dishes into the roasting tins and pour hot tap water into the base to come halfway up the dishes.
- Divide the custard mixture between the dishes.
- Bake ramekins for an hour, or until the custard is just set.
- Remove from the water bath, leave to cool then refrigerate for an hour.
- Sprinkle the top of the custard with the remaining sugar and use a blow torch to melt and caramelise.
- Allow to sugar to harden for a few minutes before serving.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article.
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- Chocolate Caramel Ice Cream Parfait5 Hours 57 Minutes
- Strawberry Crème brûlée1 Hours 15 Minutes
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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.
Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.
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Amanda
Easy to make and light and refreshing.