Apricot Creme Brûlée Recipe

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Turn your classic creme brulee into this fruity apricot creme brûlée. This French dessert is custard-based baked in a water bath then torched with sugar to create a glass-like caramel top. It takes just 10 minutes to prep with 30 minutes to bake.

For me, Creme Brûlée and Tiramisu are date night desserts. There are few desserts that are pretty to look at as they are delicious. I always associate them with being classy and exotic. I love the classic Creme Brûlée.

And yet, this time I wanted to make something different. I love the flavor of apricots very much. I often use homemade apricot jam in my cake decorating. So it’s one of those fruits I truly love very much. It’s sweet, tart and pulpy too!

Why make this dessert

• If you love custards, then you must try this recipe. The baking gives this dessert a smooth and velvety texture.
• This dessert needs only five main ingredients. And it is easier than pies, tarts, or cakes. Yes!! You can of course omit the apricot puree to make the classic creme brulee or add Pumpkin puree instead.
• Compared to most other desserts this one has fewer steps with just 10 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of baking.
• It needs a few hours of chilling which makes it the perfect dessert for entertaining.
• There are just two components to this dessert
  • The custard – Made with hot cream and eggs along with sugar and vanilla. It is baked in a water batch which keeps it rich, creamy, and smooth.
  • The Brulee top – this is burnt sugar on top of the custard base. It is done just before serving and takes as little as 2 minutes.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Cream – This dessert is always made with cream as it bakes thick and rich.
  • You can replace half of the cream with milk or half and half (cream/milk). The custard will still set, but it will be less rich. Lighter with a little jiggle to it.
  • Alternatively, if using milk you can add one tbsp of cornstarch which will help add firmness.
• Egg Yolks – the use of egg yolks is what makes the baked custard thick and creamy, unlike, creme caramel flan where we use a combination of eggs and egg yolks.
• Sugar – It’s best to use fine-grain sugar (like castor) when making any custard-based dessert. The fine sugar dissolves quickly and easily. You can use light brown sugar for the top brulee if you prefer. It adds a nice warm molasses flavor.
• Vanilla – custard-based desserts such as this are usually always made with real vanilla bean caviar (seeds) as it adds a nice strong vanilla flavor as well as reduces the egg smell. Having said that, vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, or vanilla sugar can be used just as well.
• Apricots – I am using fresh apricot puree here because apricots are in season at the moment. And yet, frozen work just as well. Just blend them in a blender and sieve to remove the fiber.

Step by step instructions

• Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C / Gas Mark 2
• Place a paper hand towel in a roasting pan with 6 x 4 oz ramekins.
  Pro tip – The paper hand towel will prevent the ramekins from moving around.

Apricot Puree

• Blanch apricot – Wash apricot and score the skin with a knife before you blanch them. Place them in a pot of hot water. Let them simmer in the hot water for 2 to 3 minutes. You will see the skin just starts to peel off. Immediately place them in a bowl of cold water.
• When cool enough to touch, peel them. Cut the fruit in half, remove seed and pulse them in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a sieve and set aside. Use the amount required in your recipe.
  Pro tip – Straining through a sieve will remove the fruit fiber, which will give a smooth velvety texture to the custard mixture.

Custard mixture

• In a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream, vanilla bean scraping, and salt to an almost boil.
  Pro tip – To use the vanilla bean caviar (seeds), split the bean in half length way, scrape the insides with the back of a knife and add it to the pan along with the bean.
• In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Add apricot puree and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Pour the hot cream mixture gradually into the egg mixture a few tablespoons at a time stirring continuously. Strain thru a sieve to remove any curdled eggs.
  Pro tip – This is called tempering the eggs. It is important to pour the milk gradually to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Bake creme brûlée

• Divide the mixture equally between the prepared ramekins. Place the roasting pan on a larger baking tray.
• Pour enough water in the roasting pan to come to almost 1/2 way up outside the ramekins
  Pro tip – This is called baking in a water bath. The water outside will create steam and bake the custard without curdling.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
  Once baked – remove from the oven, cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 to 4 hours or overnight (up to 3 days)

Caramelize the top

• When ready to serve, sprinkle about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar over each ramekin.
  Pro tip – This step must be done before serving. Otherwise, the caramel will soften in the fridge due to condensation.
• Spread evenly by swirling the ramekin in your hand. Shake off any excess and clean the rim.
  Pro tip – Wipe the rim of the ramekin with a paper hand towel to remove any sugar. Otherwise, you will have brunt sugar on the edges, which does not give a clean finish.
• Carefully caramelize the sugar using a blowtorch. The sugar should turn amber and smooth but also hard which cracks like glass when eating.
  Pro tip – Pass the flame of the blowtorch over the sugar in a circular motion to get a more even caramel color.

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Apricot Creme Brulee Recipe

Author: Veena Azmanov

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Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 3 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Coooking Temperature: 300°F/ 150°C / Gas Mark 2

Calories: 310kcal

Adjust Servings Here: 10 servings

Description

A little twist and you can turn your classic creme brulee into this fruity apricot creme brûlée. This French dessert is custard-based baked in a water bath then torched with sugar to create a glass-like caramel top. It takes just 10 minutes to prep with 30 minutes to bake.

Video

Ingredients 

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For the Creme

• ▢ 2 cups (470 ml) Heavy cream
• ▢ 4 Egg yolks
• ▢ ⅓ cup (70 g) Sugar
• ▢ 1 pinch Salt
• ▢ 1 Vanilla bean
• ▢ ⅓ cup (50 g) Apricot puree (see notes above)

For the Top

• ▢ ⅓ cup (70 g) Sugar

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 300°F/ 150°C / Gas Mark 2
• Place a paper hand towel in a roasting pan with 6 x 4 oz ramekins

  Pro tip – the paper hand towel will prevent the ramekins from moving around – Set aside.

Apricot Puree

• Blanch Apricot – Wash apricot and score the skin with a knife before you blanch them. Place them in a pot of hot water. Let them simmer in the hot water for 2 to 3 minutes. You will see the skin just starts to peel off. Immediately place them in a bowl of cold water.
• When cool enough to touch, peel them. Cut the fruit in half, remove seed and pulse the in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a sieve and set aside. Use the amount required in your recipe.

  Pro tip – straining through a sieve will remove the fruit fiber which will give a smooth velvety texture to the custard mixture.

Custard mixture

• In a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream, vanilla bean scraping and salt to an almont boil.

  Pro tip – to use a vanilla bean, split the bean in half lengthways, scrape the insides with the back of a knife and add it to the pan along with the bean.
• In a separate bowl combine egg yolks and sugar. Add apricot puree and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Pour the hot cream mixture gradually into the egg mixture a few tablespoons at a time stirring continuously. Strain thru a sieve to remove any curdled eggs

  Pro tip – this is called tempering the eggs. It is important to pour the milk gradually to prevent the eggs curdling.

Bake Creme Brulee

• Divide the mixture equally between the prepared ramekins. Place the roasting pan on a larger baking tray.
• Pour enough water in the roasting pan to come to almost 1/2 way up outside the ramekins

  Pro tip – this is called baking in a water bath. The water outside will create steam and bake the custard without curdling.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Once baked – remove from the oven, cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 to 4 hours or overnight (up to 3 days)

Caramelize the top

• When ready to serve, sprinkle about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar over each ramekin.

  Pro tip – this step must be done before serving, otherwise, the caramal will soften in the fridge due to condensation.
• Spread evenly by swirling the ramekin in your hand. Shake off any excess and clean the rim.

  Pro tip – wipe the rim of the ramekin with a paper towel to remove any sugar, otherwise, you will have brunt sugar on the edges which do not give a clean finish.
• Carefully caramelize the sugar using a blowtorch. The sugar should turn amber and smooth but also hard which cracks like glass when eating.

  Pro tip – Pass the flame of the blowtorch over the sugar in a circular motion to get a more even caramel color.

Recipe Notes & Tips

• Combine the egg yolks and sugar well. This means to whip the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is pale in color.
• Always use the best quality vanilla you can get. A vanilla bean is the most preferred for custard-based desserts. And yet, you can also try a bean paste or good quality vanilla. NO IMITATIONS.
• Also, be careful when combining the hot cream with the egg yolk mixture. You want to temper the egg yolks but not curdle it. The best way to do this is to whisk the egg mixture while pouring the cream.
• Bake the creme brulee in the right baking dish such as a ramekin. This dessert is best baked in a wide shallow creme brulee dish as I have used in my pumpkin creme brulee is preferred. And yet, a ramekin used in this recipe works just as well.
• Custard-based desserts such as creme brulee must bake at low temperatures. A water bath is a great way to protect the yolk and cream mixture from overheating. It usually takes between 40 to 45 minutes after which you must keep a close eye.
• A creme brulee is baked when almost set but still has a slight jiggle in the custard. That jiggle will continue to cook with the remaining heat and then placed in the fridge when cooled. 
• In addition, creme brulee is best served at room temperature. So take it out an hour or more before serving.
• Finally, caramelize the sugar do not burn it. You want a pretty golden color not black color. The best way to do this is to do it slowly and in a circular motion not staying in one place for too long.

Adapted from –

Creme Brulee

Conversions Used

1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,

Nutrition Information

Calories: 310– kcalCarbohydrates: 27– gProtein: 5– gFat: 21– gSaturated Fat: 13– gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8– gMonounsaturated Fat: 0– gTrans Fat: 0– gCholesterol: 205– mgSodium: 170– mgPotassium: 0– mgFiber: 0– gSugar: 22– gVitamin A: 0– IUVitamin C: 0– mgCalcium: 0– mgIron: 0– mg

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

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