Low Carb Creme Brulee
Low carb Creme Brulee is one of my most favorite desserts. This recipe may be low carb/sugar free, but you’d never know! Made with only 4 ingredients, this decadent keto dessert is perfect to serve for holidays, dinner parties or for any special occasion!
Low carb Creme Brulee is an easy, elegant dessert that’s easy to prepare because it uses basic ingredients and only requires the simplest tools from your kitchen.
I always loved to order Creme Brulee when we would dine out at nice restaurants, but it never occurred to me to try making it at home. In my mind, it was a fancy dessert that required a lot of time to make and special ingredients that I normally wouldn’t buy. So…you can imagine my delight (and surprise) when I found out that it was made from heavy whipping cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla!! That’s it!!
Now that I have found a way to cut the sugar down, I’m in dessert heaven! If you’re on a low carb diet, this is a dream come true, but you’re on a ‘low fat’ diet, this might need to be an occasional treat.
Never the less…it’s a great dessert that makes just about any occasion very special.
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Ingredients
All you’re going to need are 4 simple ingredients.
- Heavy whipping cream. Don’t try to substitute the heavy cream with anything else because it won’t work. Milk or half & half isn’t going to be thick enough to make the thick, custard texture. .
- 4 large egg yolks
- Your favorite sugar free sweetener. I used granular Truvia Sweet Complete with Monk fruit and it worked perfectly. You can also use granular Swerve, but if you don’t care about the carbs & don’t want to use a sugar free sweetener, you can substitute the sweetener for white sugar.
- Vanilla flavoring/extract
You’ll also need:
- A medium sauce pan
- 4 ramekins
- A baking dish
- Measuring cup
- A mixing bowl
Low carb Creme Brulee
The first thing you’re going to do is to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next, bring 2 cups of heavy cream just up to barely simmering. You don’t want to bring the cream to boiling as that’s way too hot. While the cream is warming, whisk together the egg yolks, the vanilla and ¼ cup sugar-free sweetener in a separate bowl.
When the cream is hot, not boiling, slowly pour it into the mixing bowl with the egg mixture and stir until well blended.
Pour the mixture into the ramekins, dividing evenly among them.
Place the 4 bowls in a baking dish and pour hot water in until it reach half way up the sides of the ramekins. You’ll then place the baking dish in the preheated oven and cook for about 45 minutes…depending on your oven. You’ll want the tops to be a slightly golden color and the custard to be slightly firm…not liquid-y.
Almost there…
When done, cool them completely on the counter. Next, you can refrigerate them before caramelizing the top or go ahead and complete the last step, as I do the latter.
Caramelizing the tops
One thing I love about this recipe is you don’t need a blow torch, but if you have one, you can certainly use it! When I first made this recipe, I didn’t have one so I was delighted to know that I could simply use the broiler in my oven for this. Since then, I found a little butane torch on Amazon and it works perfectly AND it’s much quicker than the broiler.
To make the caramelized coating, sprinkle the remaining sugar over the tops of each custard, covering them almost completely. (See above pic on the right) Place them in the oven, under the broiler for 1-2 minutes and keep a very close eye on them so they don’t burn. The sugar will liquify, creating a glass like coating over the top. It’s a delicious, crunchy coating. When done, remove from the oven, let cool and refrigerate until time to serve.
If using the torch, just hold the button down and hold the torch over each ramekin (keeping it moving) until the sugar is melted.
How to serve…
Many recipes say that Creme Brulee should be served at room temperature. I believe this is a personal preference. I usually will chill mine slightly before serving. Either way…they’re DELICIOUS! You can also top with whipped cream and fruit or eat plain.
Tips for making low carb creme brulee:
- You can make this low carb Creme Brulee ahead of time! To do this, make the custard the night before and bake in ramekins. Then, leave to chill in the fridge overnight and for up to 24 hours before topping with extra sweetener and finishing them off by putting them under the broiler.
- Do not bring your heavy cream to a boil! This could potentially ruin your recipe. Just get it hot enough to see the steam coming off of it.
- If you only want to make two, you can 1/2 the recipe. You can also easily double the recipe to make more.
- You can freeze the individual ramekins to enjoy later. Simply wrap them well and freeze. When you are ready to serve them allow them to sit out on your counter for 30 minutes or so, unwrapped
- I did the math on cost per serving. I paid about $5 for the 32 oz heavy whipping cream, the 4 eggs were .96 cents (.24 cents each) and the Truvia sweetener cost about .66 cents an ounce. I used 4 oz. (1/2 cup) $2.64. Total for these 4 desserts came to $8.60, making each one cost right at $2.15 each. If you were to order this dessert at a restaurant, you would easily pay $8-10 for one, making your total for just desserts anywhere between $32 and $40 plus tax & tip. Wow!!
Be sure to leave me a comment below if you try this recipe. I’d love to know what you think!
While you’re here, be sure to check out some of my other dessert recipes like Easy No Bake Chocolate Eclair Dessert and Easy No Bake Banana Pudding and be sure to subscribe to my monthly/semi monthly newsletter so you don’t miss a post! I would also love for you join our Love To Frugal community by following me on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for more money saving tips!
Low Carb Creme Brulee
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar free sweetener divided
- 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350
- Put 2 cups of heavy cream in a saucepan and bring it to barely simmering. Do NOT boil!
- In a separate bowl, separate egg yolks & whisk the yolks with 1/4 cup of the sweetener and 1 tsp of vanilla.
- When cream is ready, slowly add it to the egg mixture, stirring constantly until it's well blended.
- Pour mixture into 4 ramekins & place in a baking dish. (A 13 x 9 would work).
- Heat up 2-3 cups of water either on the stove or in the microwave to hot (not boiling).
- Pour the water into the baking dish, filling until the water comes about 1/2 way up the ramekins. Do not fill past that.
- Carefully place the baking dish on the center rack in the oven and bake 45 - 50 minutes before removing. (This could vary with different ovens. Adjust the time, accordingly) You want the tops to be somewhat firm and slightly golden.
- Remove from oven and take ramekins out of the water & cool on the counter before covering and chilling in the refrigerator.
- Once chilled, top with remaining sugar-free sweetener and place under a low broiler for 1-2 minutes to melt sweetener until golden brown. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn. If using a food torch, just hold the torch over each ramekin, melting the sugar. Make sure to keep it moving.
- Serve as is or top with whipped cream and enjoy!
Amazon picks for this post:
White Ramekins for Creme Brulee
