If there’s one dessert that feels like a gourmet experience, it’s crème brûlée. The sweet vanilla custard with a crackly, caramelized topping is pure elegance. And you don’t need sugar, or a culinary degree, to make perfect keto crème brûlée at home!
Just like keto custard, this recipe takes only a handful of simple ingredients and uses straightforward techniques. With a little care, you can achieve that velvety smooth filling and perfect “burnt sugar” topping, without the added carbs.
Whether you want to impress your guests or just want a creamy treat, this keto crème brûlée recipe is the perfect dessert. It feels fancy and indulgent, but fits right into your low carb keto lifestyle.
You will also love my French-style keto chocolate mousse and my easy Keto Chocolate Soufflé!
Why you will love this recipe
- Perfect texture: This keto creme brûlée has that silky, loose custard, just like the classic.
- Crisp topping: The topping cracks deliciously as you dig your spoon in.
- 5 Ingredients: It takes readily available keto ingredients.
- Simple elegance: With a few berries on top, it’s an elegant dessert option.
- Easy to scale up: You can make a double or triple batch for parties.
- Low carb: Naturally gluten-free, low carb, and keto-friendly!
Ingredient Notes
- Heavy whipping cream: Whipping cream provides the base of this recipe and results in a silky smooth keto custard. You can also use unsweetened coconut cream for a dairy-free version.
- Egg yolks: Use only the yolks for that silky smooth custard.
- Low carb milk: You can use unsweetened almond or hemp milk, or any low carb milk alternative.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is the standard flavor for custard but don’t feel limited to that. You can try other extracts as well. Caramel would be delicious!
- Sweetener: I recommend a brown sugar replacement for easier caramelization. See my Tips for Success for an in-depth discussion of sweetener options.
How to Make Keto Crème Brûlée
- Heat the cream mixture: Warm the cream and almond milk gently on the stove, but don’t allow it to simmer.
- Temper the egg yolks: Whisk the sweetener and egg yolks together, then slowly drizzle in the hot cream, whisking continuously. Whisk in the vanilla extract
- Set in a water bath: Set the ramekins in a larger baking dish and divide the mixture evenly between them. Pour hot water halfway up the sides.
- Bake the custard: They should be just set but still jiggle slightly in the center.
- Chill until set: Cover each ramekin tightly in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Brûlée the tops: Sprinkle a thin, even layer of sweetener over the chilled custards. Run a kitchen torch over each until melted and caramelized.
Tips for Success
Using a bain-marie (also known as a water bath) is imperative for achieving that velvety smooth texture. It creates a more gentle heat and prevents the custard from rising and cracking during baking.
Ramekins come in all shapes and sizes, and will affect how long the creme brûlée takes to bake. Choose ramekins that have a half-cup capacity (4 ounces). The narrower, deeper ones will take longer to bake than the wide, flat variety, so plan accordingly.
Sweetener Options: You can make the custard filling with your preferred sweetener, although it’s important to note that allulose may make it take longer to set. I like to use a mix of erythritol and allulose based sweeteners.
However, if you want to achieve that hard, crackly top, only an erythritol-based sweetener will work. Even the smallest amount of allulose or xylitol will prevent the topping from crisping up properly.
More Creamy Keto Desserts to Love
Keto Creme Brûlée
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (177.44 ml) heavy cream
- 2/3 cup (157.73 ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup (27.5 g) granulated sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tbsp (4.56 g) brown sugar replacement, (erythritol-based)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF and set four 4-ounce ramekins in a large baking dish.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the heavy cream and almond milk. Cook until just hot and steam rises from the surface. Do not simmer or boil. Remove from over the heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sweetener until well combined. Slowly add the hot cream, whisking continuously. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
- Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared ramekins. Pour hot or boiling water into the baking pan to about halfway the sides of the ramekins, making sure not to get any water inside. Transfer the baking dish to the oven.
- Bake until the custard is just set but still slightly wobbly in the middle, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven and carefully remove the ramekins. Let cool to room temperature, then wrap each ramekin tightly in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Before serving, remove the ramekins from the fridge and lightly blot the tops with a paper towel to dry. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the brown sugar replacement.
- Ignite a kitchen torch and run it back and forth over each custard until the sweetener caramelizes. Let set a few moments to harden. Alternatively, you can brown the topping under a preheated broiler for 1 to 2 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend making the custards ahead of time and adding the topping just before you serve. Store the custards, tightly wrapped up, in the fridge for up to two days before serving.
A torch give you the best caramelization, but you can place the custards under a broiler in the oven. Watch them closely and remove them once the sweetener begins to melt and become brown.
This keto creme brûlée recipe has 1.8g of carbs and 0g of fiber per serving. That comes to 1.8g net carbs per serving.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Love your custard recipe, made it and I will make it again,
Ina
Can you use stevia drops in the custard filling?
Good evening! can I use something besides almond milk? maybe coconut milk?
Please read the blog post, as I always discuss alternatives.
I just wanted to say that I love all your recipes, and I’ve made many of your desserts, including this one. One challenge I had with this recipe was that it didn’t set even though I baked it for 45 minutes and left it in the refrigerator overnight. It still tasted amazing. I’m at a loss to understand what I did wrong, since it’s a relatively straightforward recipe.
What sweetener did you use for the filling?
Hi Caroline, can I use coconut milk, the bottled kind, not the canned one?
Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
May powdered allulose w/ monkfruit be used instead of granulated?
Please read the blog post as I discuss this at length.