Easy Vanilla Crème Brûlée (Air Fryer or Oven)
, Updated Jul 16, 2025
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Classic Vanilla Crème Brûlée – silky smooth with a crisp caramelized sugar top. An easy yet elegant dessert that always impresses—made with just a six ingredients. Bake in your air fryer or oven and prepare to impress!
There’s nothing so satisfying, and full of sweet anticipation, like tapping your spoon against the hard shell of caramelized sugar to break through to the creamy vanilla custard below.
I associate Crème Brûlée with special outings because, let’s face it, most of us only order this dessert at fancy dinners out. But it turns out that it is TRULY EASY to make Crème Brûlée at home, especially if you follow my foolproof recipe. You can even bake it in your Air Fryer!
What is Crème Brûlée?
Despite its fancy name, this dessert is simply baked vanilla custard with a burnt sugar topping. “Crème Brûlée” literally means “burnt cream” in French!
Crème brûlée has captivated dessert lovers for centuries. The earliest written recipe appears in François Massialot’s Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois (pronounce with a French accent for extra flair—did I mention my husband is fluent?).
Ingredients for Crème Brûlée
This classic French recipe (crème brûlée a la vanille) features whole eggs and yolks, cream, sugar and vanilla. I’ve simplified the custard base using sweetened condensed milk for a smooth, foolproof custard without the need of mixing or cooking.
Just before serving, you create the crunchy topping by caramelizing a thin layer of sugar sprinkled on top using a kitchen blowtorch. Don’t worry if you don’t have one though – there are ways around it! Let’s take a at what you will need:
- Eggs: large whole eggs and egg yolks at room temperature. If your eggs are fridge-cold, warm them up gently by placing in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes
- Sweetened condensed milk replaces the sugar used in the classic recipe
- Cream: always use full-fat heavy cream (double cream)
- Vanilla bean paste or scrape the seeds from a vanilla pod
- Pinch salt to bring out the sweetness!
- Granulated sugar for that irresistible brulée topping
How To Make Air Fryer Crème Brûlée
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
- Place the cream, sweetened condensed milk, whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla bean paste and salt into a mixing bowl. Use a balloon whisk to stir the ingredients together until smooth. Strain the custard mixture through a fine sieve for silky smoothness.
- Divide the custard between six small ramekins (110ml /4oz ramekins). If you are a fan of Gu desserts then their glass containers are perfect for this recipe!
- Place the the ramekins into the air fryer basket, spaced slightly apart. Bake at 130°C (265°F) for 16-20 minutes, or until the custard is set at the edges but still a bit of a jiggle in the middle.
- Transfer the ramekins onto a wire rack to cool then chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
- Sprinkle half to one teaspoon of sugar over the top of each ramekin, shaking to distribute into an even layer. Melt the sugar using a blowtorch until it is caramelised. Allow the sugar crust to cool and harden for a few minutes before serving.
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Oven Baking instructions
The oven method is a little more fussy compared to baking in an air fryer as you will need to use the bain marie cooking method (which is layman’s terms simply means cooking in a water bath).
- Preheat the oven to 285°F( 140°C).Place the filled ramekins onto a deep baking dish, spaced apart. Pour boiling water into the dish (careful not to splash the custard) until it reached halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the custard is mostly set with a little wobble in the middle. Carefully remove the ramekins from the baking sheet and allow to cool before chilling in the fridge.
Make Crème Brûlée Like a Pro!
- PREP AHEAD Make the custard a day in advance so that it has a chance to chill properly and set. That way you can tick one thing off your list if you are making dessert for a special occasion (it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day or a dinner party).
- THE COOKING TIME will depend on the size of your ramekins (I used 4 floz (110ml ramekins). If you are baking in the oven start checking after 20 minutes, adding more time as needed. Same goes for the air fryer – gently open the basket to check after 15 minutes and adjust the cooking time to suit your model.
- THE SUGAR CRUST You can make the crust thicker by adding more sugar. Don’t overdo it though or it will be difficult to break through it!
- WHAT IS A BAIN MARIE? A bain marie is a water bath which helps the custard to bake evenly without curdling or cracking. This method is used when baking cheesecake in the oven as well.
- NO BLOW TORCH? NO PROBLEM! If you don’t own a kitchen torch you can easily caramelise the sugar under the oven broiler (grill) for a few minutes, being very watchful as it can go from golden to burned in seconds!
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- Bougatsa Recipe (Μπουγάτσα) – Greek Phyllo Custard Pie
- 4-Ingredient Basque Cheesecake
- Baileys Fruit Cake
- Banoffee Cheesecake
- Do Nothing Cake { Tornado Cake }
- Bienenstich – German Bee Sting Cake
HAVE YOU MADE MY CRÈME BRÛLÉE RECIPE? Please leave a comment and rating below Tag me with your creations on Instagram, follow along on TikTok @supergoldenbakes and check out my Pinterest for later and follow for more easy, flavor-packed meals!y.
Easy Vanilla Crème Brûlée
Video
Ingredients
For the custard
- 400 g (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 250 ml (1 cup) cream heavy / double
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 large whole eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- pinch salt
Topping
- 3 tsp sugar (or as needed)
Instructions
PREPARE THE CUSTARD
- Place the cream, sweetened condensed milk, whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla bean paste and salt into a mixing bowl. Use a balloon whisk to stir the ingredients together until smooth.400 g (14oz) sweetened condensed milk, 250 ml (1 cup) cream, 3 large egg yolks, 2 large whole eggs, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, pinch salt
- Strain the custard mixture through a fine sieve. Divide the custard between six small ramekins.
COOK IN THE AIR FRYER
- Place the the ramekins into the air fryer basket, spaced slightly apart. Bake at 130°C (265°F) for 16-20 minutes, or until the custard is set at the edges but still has a bit of a jiggle in the middle.
- Transfer the ramekins onto a wire rack to cool then chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
COOK IN THE OVEN
- Preheat the oven to 140°C (285°F).
- Place the filled ramekins onto a deep baking dish, spaced apart. Pour boiling water into the dish (be careful not to splash the custard) until it reached halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the custard is mostly set with a little wobble in the middle. Carefully remove the ramekins from the baking sheet and allow to cool before chilling in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
FINISHING TOUCHES
- Sprinkle half to one teaspoon of sugar over the top of each ramekin, shaking to distribute into an even layer. Melt the sugar using a blowtorch until it is caramelised. Allow the sugar crust to cool and harden for a few minutes before serving.3 tsp sugar
Notes
- Storage Tips
Fridge: Chill in airtight containers for up to 3 days. The caramel crust may soften slightly, but the magic returns with a quick re-torch. If sugar sets too hard, peel it off and gently reheat the custard with fresh caramelized sugar on top. - Freezing isn’t ideal—custard texture is delicate and can turn grainy; best to make fresh.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
