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A big thank you to Kim from Low Carb Maven for guest posting for Wholesome Yum while I take a break to spend time with my newborn. Today Kim is sharing her amazing keto low carb creme brulee recipe!
I’m so happy to be guest posting for Maya today as she takes some time off with her beautiful family. I blog at Low Carb Maven and while I don’t post desserts very often, I am known to have some great dessert recipes. Please enjoy.
Desserts are something I always enjoy making – whether it’s something more complicated like this great sex-in-a-pan dessert from Maya or a recipe that’s elegant in its simplicity. You can always find me tinkering in the kitchen with new and classic flavors alike. Like this delicious vanilla bean low carb creme brulee.
I can’t remember the last time I made a creme brulee. It must have been at least 10 years ago for a dinner party, soon after we brought our daughter home from China. This was back when we still had time for dinner parties. I remember her smiling and kicking her feet in pleasure with each taste. Oh how the time flies!
I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to make low carb creme brulee again, but this was my son’s first introduction. He loved it, too, and was quite put-out when all of the recipe testing was over and the desserts were gone!
Aside from this vanilla bean creme brulee, I also tested an ultra-decadent low carb chocolate truffle creme brulee. They were both fantastic and the family was thoroughly impressed.
Keto creme brulee is such an easy and elegant dessert, and vanilla is the gold standard. Who can resist the flavor and texture of this classic dessert? I know I can’t. With the regular version made with sugar, egg yolks and cream, it’s one of the easiest recipes to convert to low carb.
For this keto creme brulee recipe, I used vanilla bean powder to provide those characteristic tiny black flecks. If you have a real vanilla bean, 1/3 of the bean would suffice. You could even use 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (to taste), if you’d rather use that. The vanilla powder was convenient to use and I loved the taste. The only thing we noticed is that the vanilla beans had the tendency to sink to the bottom of the ramekin as the dessert cooked.
Many recipes for creme brulee mention to strain the custard mixture after blending the ingredients together. I find that as long as the chalazae are removed (the tough white stringy thing that holds the yolk in the center of the egg) from the yolk, then there is no need for straining. Do whatever makes you comfortable.
The water bath is simple, just requiring that the ramekins be put into a pan or baking dish that comfortably holds them. You just need room for water to circulate half way up the sides of the ramekins. The whole dessert comes together in about 10-15 minutes and cooks for 30.
Make sure to give the low carb creme brulee at least 4 hours of chilling time, but overnight is best. It will hold in the fridge for 2-3 days, but make sure to enjoy within 5 days after cooking.
Kim creates delicious low carb recipes in her southern California home and blogs at Low Carb Maven. You can find her on social media on Facebook, Pinterest, Instag
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RECIPE CARD
Keto Low Carb Creme Brulee - 5 Ingredients (Sugar-free, Gluten-free)
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Instructions
RECIPE TIPS + VIDEO in the post above, nutrition info + recipe notes below!
Click on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack to the middle position. Heat water in a tea kettle until hot, but not boiling. Find a pan large enough to fit the 4 ramekins and deep enough to add water halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Method
Add the yolks and 1 tablespoon (14 g) of the granulated sweetener to a medium bowl. Beat well to completely break up the yolks. Remove any chalazae that remain.
- Pour the heavy cream into a small pot and add the remaining erythritol and vanilla bean powder (if using extract, add later). Place the pot over medium heat and heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk, until bubbles begin to simmer around the edge of the pot. Turn off the heat and being pouring the egg yolk into the hot cream mixture – very slowly in a thin stream, while quickly whisking all the while. Whisk in the brandy (and add the vanilla extract if you are using that instead.)
Bake
Divide the crème brulee mixture evenly between 4 ramekins. Place the ramekins into the pan and fill the pan with hot water half way up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the very enter of the crème brulee is barely jiggly.
Cool the crème brulee in the water bath for an hour before removing to a rack to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours (overnight is better).
Before serving, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) sweetener over the top of each crème brulee. Melt the sweetener with a culinary torch until it caramelizes, turning brown. Alternately, add a dollop of whipped cream to the top. Serve.
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Recipe Notes
Kim recommends using target="_blank">Erythritol or Sukrin:1 for the sweetener. You can use pure erythritol, but may need to augment the sweetness with stevia.
Serving size: 1 creme brulee
Nutrition Information Per Serving
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. You can find individual ingredient carb counts we use in the Low Carb & Keto Food List. Net carb count excludes fiber, erythritol, and allulose, because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.
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Low Carb Keto Food List + Printable PDF
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66 Comments
Rachel
Hi Joyce. Do you add the egg yolk to the cream or the other way around?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Rachel, Add the yolks to the cream.
Joyce
Can I use regular skim milk or almond milk instead of the heavy cream and can I leave the brandy out?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Joyce, I’m sure the recipe would work with skim milk, but keep in mind it would no longer be keto. 1 cup of skim milk contains 12.5 g carbs. If you would like to use an alternative to cream, I suggest using coconut milk. It will give you the creamiest texture without the added carbs. The brandy provides flavor, but you can leave it out if you prefer.
Cheryl Abernathy
My favorite dessert is Creme Brûlée. Made this recipe today. The only change I made was to use a vanilla bean. It was the most velvety delicious creme Brûlée I have had in a very long time! Thanks Maya!!
Ivona
Hi, I have a steam oven and I wonder if I could bake them in it using convection-steam mode.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Ivona, I have not tested this recipe with an oven with that type of steam function, so I cannot guarantee the results. In theory, the steam function on your oven should be able to replace a water bath, but I suggest your read through the owner’s manual before trying the recipe. Best wishes!
Mary Leach
How much cocoa would you add to this to make it Chocolate creme brulee?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Mary, I would add 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder and a small pinch of salt. Enjoy!
Denise Niemi
What to use if you have no Ramikens?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Denise, You can use any oven-proof bowls in this recipe. Keep in mind that the larger the base of the bowl, the quicker the creme brulee filling will bake, so you may need to adjust the bake time.
Josh
How did you manage to brulee the Erythritol? I have done this with regular sugar literally hundreds of times, and always get that lovely burnt crust on top. But with the Erythritol, when I torched it, it melted but “disappeared” (ie, became completely transparent). So, I did end up with a crust, but quite thin, and not very pleasant to eat.
What trick did you do to get the burnt effect? (p.s. I used regular granulated–not powdered–Erythritol on the top. But I do not see how that should have made a difference, yes?)
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Josh, It’s true that erythritol does not crisp as much as sugar does. You might like allulose better which will caramelize like sugar does.
Cheryl Behrends
Can this be turned into a lemon creame brulé and still be sugarfree?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Cheryl, You could add a little lemon extract to the custard base for a lemony flavor.
Becky
Erythritol has 4 carbs per teaspoon, so from my calculations there would be 12 grams of carbs per serving from the erythritol alone. How did you come up with 4 grams total carbs per serving? I have made this, and it is very good, but next time I will use liquid stevia, which has no carbs.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Becky, We don’t count the carbs from erythritol, so the carb count for erythritol is 0.
Charlene
Absolutely Devine!!!
I didn’t have vanilla beans so just used 1 teaspoon clear GF vanilla extract. We always love finding decadent desserts that are keto and gluten free!
Lou Billedeaux
Best Creme Brulee recipe I have ever used. It’s simple but separating yolks from the whites is tedious. I use a very long thin set of tweezers to get out the chalaziones. Otherwise this is so creamy and delicious with a delicate vanilla flavor. It’s a hit every time I serve it!
Emeline
Can I use coconut milk or cream instead of dairy to make it paleo?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Emeline, I haven’t tried that, but you probably can. Let me know if it works for you.
Mack
You know cream is dairy lol
Sherry
I was really excited to try this recipe but the results were un-edible. Tasted like eggs with sugar on them. Wondering what I did wrong. Any common mistakes you hear about that could help figure this out? I did think it odd that the eggs get added to the hot milk rather than the other way around but that would effect consistency mire than taste-which wasn’t the case. Consistency was fine but taste was not at all like creme brûlée
Wholesome Yum
Hi Sherry, I’m sorry to hear that. Did you make any substitutions or alterations in the recipe? It’s hard to troubleshoot without being there in the kitchen with you. Alternatively, you might like my keto custard recipe, which uses similar ingredients.
Anita Trudel
Is it possible to brown them using the oven broiler instead of a torch?
Wholesome Yum
Hi Anita, I haven’t tried that. It might work, but you’ll have to make sure the custard is completely cold and your ramekins can take the high heat.
Anja
Love it.
My son want me to make them.
So he can take them home
Carrie
Thanks for this winner of a recipe. I’d been holding on to it until we got a culinary torch. It was well-written enough for my 18yo son to follow by himself (new to baking) and also delicious enough that he will definitely be making it again for all of us!
Ben Clawson
I would say you should switch around the mixing of the egg and cream – warm cream whisked slowly into egg yolks – pouring the egg yolks slowly into a lot of warm cream increases your risk of curdling and scrambled egging the whole lot. Thanks for the inspiration on sugar free Creme Brulee though!
Liz
Hi, looks great! What can i sub for brandy? Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Liz! You can skip it if you don’t want to use it.
Jenny
Do NOT over cook this. I didn’t think mine was quite done so I gave it another 5 minutes and that was too much. Tuned into “scrambled eggs” texture instead of the smoothie velevety custard Creme Brûlée is known for. Take it out when set, but still “wobbly.”
Great recipe though! I used 1/4 c Lakanto golden for the sweetners and it’s delicious .
Kathy
This recipe is so delicious! I flavored mine with maple extract and it was fantastic. Thanks for sharing
Michelle
My teenaged daughter made this for us tonight and it is AMAZING She used 1 tsp of vanilla extract (homemade) instead of the vanilla powder because that is what we had and skipped the brandy. She used Lakanto’s erythritol/monk-fruit blend as the sweetener in the 1/4 cup recommended. She skipped the sprinkling of sweetener on top and torching it because we don’t have one. It is great without it. Yum!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you for sharing, Michelle! Kudos to your daughter!
bajan_lee
I made keto bread yesterday and decided to use up some of the leftover yolks by trying this recipe! I skipped the brandy and used 2 tsp. vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean powder.
I am so so pleased with how these came out – really delicious! Thanks for another great recipe!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!
Ada
What size ramekin bowls are u using?
How many ounces?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Ada, Use ramekins like these.
Victoria
Can I use 10-oz ramekins for the creme brulee recipe?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Victoria, You can use ramekins like this.
Victoria
I ended up using my 10-oz ramekins, but we multiplied ingredients by 1.5. Came out great!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I’m glad that worked!
Theodora Davis
I made this but used vanilla bean paste and I used brown sugar substitute. Amazing!! One of my favorite recipes for dessert. Every time I make keto bread I make this b/c I have leftover yolks.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you liked this, Theodora! Thanks for stopping by!
Cathy
Hello. I am following the Keto way of eating and made this delicious recipe twice. When I enter the ingredients into a macro calculator (leaving out the erythritol), the carb count is 8g per serving (based on 4 servings). This is double what you show on the recipe. Please confirm. Thanks
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Cathy, I’m glad you liked the creme brulee! The difference is likely due to rounding, as most calculators round up the carb count in heavy cream. It could also be some other ingredient being different. All my nutrition info for individual ingedients comes from the USDA food database, which is generally more accurate than calculators or even labels that are allowed to round up or down to the nearest gram. That difference can add up when there is a lot of something in a recipe, like cream, for example.
Mary
Has anyone tried making with pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice?
Nicholas Motto
Hello – I don’t see the ramekin size… there are many different kind of sizes… do you use 4 or 6 ounces… or more? Thank you.
Kim | Low Carb Maven
I used a 6 ounce ramekin, Nicholas. Sorry for not including it in the recipe. -Kim
Stef
Can this be made without the brandy or is that a requirement?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Stef, Yes, absolutely! You can skip the brandy if you’d like.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Valya – me too!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you so much for sharing, Kim!
Kim | Low Carb Maven
Yes, Angie. Coconut milk makes a beautiful custard. Enjoy the recipe.
Angie
Is there a way to make this dairy-free? Would the canned coconut milk work?
Valya @ Valya's Taste of Home
I have to give this recipe a try. Love low sugar desserts.
Tonya Smith
Maybe try Chambord in place of the Brandy?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Tonya, I don’t see why not! That sounds delicious!
Lori
Chambord is a liqueur, which means that it has to, by law, have a 35% or higher sugar content. So, keep that in mind. It’s not like other liquors which are carb free.
Melinda
Thanks for the recipe….I love creme brulee!! Does the top get crunchy? And if yes, would it still, if I used xylitol?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Melinda, I checked with Kim for you. Here is what she said:
“I tested several low carb sweeteners on the top of the creme brulee. The absolute best was powdered monk fruit sweetener. The second best was powdered erythritol. They both produced a crackly crust with a culinary torch.”
Kim | Low Carb Maven
Thank you for letting me guest post and share this delicious recipe with your readers.
Barb
Where do you add the vanilla bean paste and brandy? In with egg/sugar mixture or after? Am I missing that in the directions?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Barb, Thanks for catching that! There was a step missing on the recipe card. I fixed it now.
Mary Leach
We absolutely loved this. I didn’t even bother to put sweetener on top and brown it. Loved it plain. But I love all types of custards etc.