Creme Brûlée Brownies
These creme brûlée brownies are the most ridiculously decadent brownies I've ever tasted!! The brownie layer is chocolatey, chewy and fudgy. That's topped off with a layer of smooth and creamy creme brûlée made with real vanilla beans! For the final touch, they're finished with a layer of sugar that gets melted and caramelized for a delicious crunchy topping.
- Author: Kelly @ Butter and Thyme
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 9 large brownies (or 16 small brownies) 1x
- Category: dessert
- Cuisine: French, American
Brownie Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 3 tablespoons water
- 4 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup dutch-process cocoa powder (or sub. regular natural cocoa powder)
Creme Brûlée Topping Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean (or sub. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract)
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- pinch salt
- ⅓ cup sugar
- Fine turbinado sugar, for brûléeing (or sub. regular granulated sugar)
- Make the brownies: Preheat oven to 350 and line a pan with parchment paper. Combine the following in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment: sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla, and water. Whisk until light and fluffy and sugar is fully dissolved, about 3-5 minutes on medium speed. Add oil and melted chocolate. Add cocoa powder and flour and mix until just combined using a rubber spatula- don’t over-mix! Pour batter into prepared pan, bake for ~ 25 min. (or until toothpick or cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs) Let cool completely!
Make creme brûlée pudding mixture: Heat cream with vanilla bean and seeds until bubbling, about 5 minutes - let cool slightly. (Note: see above "How to Split a Vanilla Bean") While it’s cooling, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Slowly pour the warm vanilla milk into the egg mixture a little bit at a time, whisking after each addition, until it’s all added. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Once it thickens, immediately remove the pot from the heat and continue to whisk for another minute to prevent curdling.
Assemble brownies: spread the creme brûlée pudding mixture evenly on top of the cooled brownies. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 3 hours (or overnight).
Top with sugar and brûlée! It's easier to cut the brownies first, then torch each brownie individually.
Notes
- Make ahead instructions: Follow steps 1-3 and allow brownies to sit overnight. The next day, slice, top with sugar, brûlée, and serve.
- After bruleeing, I like to put the brownies back in the fridge for about 10 minutes so that the creme is on the cooler side. But not for much longer than that, or the crunchy top will start to soften.
Keywords: creme brulee brownies, fudge brownies with creme brulee, vanilla bean creme brulee brownies