Passion Fruit Crème Brûlée Recipe

Passion fruit creme brulee is a classic dessert with a little twist. Easy to make, however, there is a technique you’ll need to follow, and I’m going to show you how. So, read on to get the classic version from a professional chef.

Creme brulee on the surface looks so simple to make with only 4 ingredients. However, there are multiple things going on. The 2 main components eggs yolks and cream when used in dessert recipes have their risks.

Especially egg yolks when used as a stand-alone ingredient in desserts. It can be easy to overcook them which can lead to disaster. There is no coming back from overcooked egg yolks. This is why it is vital to follow this exact process I’m about to share with you.

So, why take my advice? Good question, I’ve been a professional chef for over 25 years and have worked with some amazing kitchens and chefs. I’ve cooked many variations of creme brulee from the classic version to adding different fruits and flavors.

Passion Fruit Creme Brulee The Professional Recipe

The ingredients for creme brulee are simple, and your starting point would be egg yolks. This recipe is for 4 – 4oz or 113gms ramekins.

Preheat the oven to 285ºF or 140ºC, fan oven to 266ºF or 130ºC and place the rack into the middle of the oven.

• 1 Egg yolk per Brulee
• 2 tablespoons (25g or .89oz) of castor sugar per egg yolk
• ¼ cup of cream per egg yolk

So, if you’re going to make 4 passion fruit creme brulee you will need

• 4 Egg yolks (size 6 or 7)
• ½ cup (100g or 3.55oz) of Castor sugar
• 2 cups of Heavy cream.
• 4 Passion fruit (1 for each creme brulee)
• You can also add the seeds from one vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract if you want.
• If you’re adding other flavors like passion fruit, rhubarb, raspberries, chocolate, or caramel the vanilla is optional.

Use castor sugar, it has a finer grain therefore it easily dissolves when mixed with egg yolks and cream. Using table sugar which has a coarser grain you’ll run the risk of it not completely dissolving and leaving a grainy almost crunchy texture to your finished creme brulee.

Adding the seeds from a vanilla pod will add a beautiful sweet-scented vanilla flavor. If you’re making classic creme brulee you’ll need to add a vanilla pod. One vanilla will be enough for 4 to 10 creme brulee.

Add the egg yolks and sugar to a stainless steel bowl. Why a stainless steel bowl? I’ll explain soon.

• Chefs Tip: Don’t leave the egg yolks and sugar sitting together in the same bowl for more than is needed. As the sugar reacts with the yolks almost cooking them. Which gives them an outer thick skin. This will leave your passion fruit creme brulee with hard bright yellow eggy lumps and will ruin the finished product.

Fresh Cream and Vanilla

The best way to extract the most flavor out of the vanilla pod is to split it longways and with the blade of a knife carefully scrap out the aromatic vanilla seeds and add them to the cream along with the whole pod.

Bring the cream to a boil, be careful not to scold it or let it boil over. When boiled remove from the heat and let stand for 1 – 2 minutes.

Tempering The Egg Yolks

Now start whisking the egg yolk and sugar. SLOWLY start adding the cream, bit by bit, whisking all the time. This will gradually heat the egg yolks.

Chefs Tip: Adding the hot cream too fast and the yolks will heat too quickly and you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. There will be big lumps of overcooked eggs, which won’t be very nice.

After you’ve incorporated all, the cream with the sugar and yolks, heat a pot of water to a simmer. Place the stainless steel bowl over the pot of simmering water making sure the bowl isn’t touching the water.

Vigorously whisk the mixture making sure it doesn’t get too hot and overcook the eggs. You can move the bowl away from the water and keep whisking if you think it is starting to get too hot or you start to see small lumps of egg start to form.

The creme brulee mixture will have formed foam-like bubbles, this is ok. So, don’t be concerned.

Chefs Tip: Whisking the mixture over simmering water for 2 – 3 minutes will help start the cooking process. This is like giving the creme brulee mixture a jump start.

Now pass the creme brulee mixture through a fine sieve into a suitable-sized jug. This will catch any lumps that could have formed and will also catch the access foamy bubbles that were created from the vigorous whisking.

Cooking Your Passion Fruit Creme Brulee

Preheat the oven to 285ºF or 140ºC, fan oven to 266ºF or 130ºC and place the rack into the middle of the oven.

The size of the ramekins I’m using is 4oz or 113gms. Before you pour the creme brulee mixture into the ramekins cut the passion fruit in half and scrape out the pulp into the bottom of the ramekins.

Slowly pour the mixture into the ramekins, don’t fill them up to the rim. You want to fill them about 2cm or 0.7in below the rim. This will stop them from spilling over when cooking.

Carefully place the ramekins into a high-sided baking tray that has a cloth towel or paper towel lining the bottom. Evenly space them out so they will bake at a consistent temperature. Now pour boiling water into the baking tray which should come up about a quarter of the way up the side of the ramekins.

Chefs Tip: Placing a cloth towel or paper towel into the bottom of the baking tray will reduce heat transfer from the heat in the oven. This will stop the bottom of the passion fruit creme brulee from getting too hot and overcooking. The addition of water will keep the creme brulee at a consistent temperature.

Place the passion fruit creme brulee into the preheated oven for 18 – 20 minutes. by this time the creme brulee should have just set, if you lightly tape them the center should wobble. Remove the passion fruit creme brulee from the oven and remove them from the water bath.

Leave them to sit on your bench for 5 minutes, the residual heat in the ramekins will just finish the creme brulee off nicely. Then place them into a container and put them into your fridge for at least 2 hours or until they are completely cold, then cover them with plastic wrap. You can leave them in the fridge for 24 hours.

Caramelizing Your Creme Brulee

You’re going to need a blow torch. Sprinkle an even layer of castor sugar over the passion fruit creme brulee, light the blow torch and start to caramelize the top. By the way, crème brûlée literally means “burnt cream” in French.

Be careful, you don’t want to burn the sugar so much that it becomes black and intensely bitter. Lightly caramelize the top until it becomes a rich golden color. Let stand for 1 minute after you’ve finished.

This will give the caramelized sugar time to cool and go hard. Tap the sugar with the back of a spoon, it will be like glass. The beauty of creme brulee is cracking the caramelized sugar so you can get to the delicious passion fruit baked custard center.

Trouble Shooting

Creme Brulee is Runny or Watery

• It hasn’t been baked for long enough.
• Water has spilled into the creme brulee from the Bain Marie it was cooked in.
• Can it be fixed? Sadly no, you can’t put it back into the oven or remove the water.

Creme Brulee Tastes Like Sweet Egg

• The brulee was baked at a too-high temperature and the eggs overheated.
• The brulee has been left in the oven for too long.
• The ratio of egg yolks is incorrect, or not enough sugar.
• Can it be fixed? Sadly no, you’ll need to start again.

Curdled Creme Brulee

• The brulee was baked at a too-high temperature and the eggs overheated and crudled.
• The brulee has been left in the oven for too long.
• Can it be fixed? Sadly no, you’ll need to start again.

Caramelized Sugar Is Not Hard

• The sugar hasn’t been caramelized enough.
• Can it be fixed? Yes, caramelize the sugar with the blow torch for a little longer, until a rich golden color.

Larder Stables And Must Have Kitchen Tools

• I’ll make it easy for you. stock your kitchen with these basic ingredients – Butter, milk, Himalayan pink or quality sea salt, whole peppercorns, sugar, vinegar, virgin olive oil, and plain flour.

Essential Kitchen Tools – Must Haves

You can’t be at a professional level in the kitchen unless you own a variety of high-end tools. Genius kitchen gadgets are an essential part of any home cook’s or aspiring chef’s arsenal. From some of the best chef knives, and kitchen cookware, to wooden cutting boards. These will set you apart from others and get you ready with what you need to start making meals like a chef.

Seasoning Food

• As a chef the most underrated ingredient in the kitchen is salt. When my recipes call for salt and pepper I use a variety of different salts and freshly ground black pepper.

Many chefs, including myself, prefer sea salt like Maldon salt flakes or Himalayan pink salt. Both can be used for cooking and finishing. They have a refined flavor that brings out the natural taste of food.

Passion Fruit Crème Brûlée Recipe

Passion Fruit Creme Brulee Is A Classic With A Little Twist. Easy To Make, However, There Is A Technique You’ll Need To Follow.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Cooling Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 35 minutes

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 4 People

Calories 459 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 4 each Egg yolks - size 6 or 7
• ½ cup Castor sugar
• 2 cups Heavy cream
• 1 each Vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract - optional
• 4 each Passion fruit - fresh
• extra Castor sugar - for caramelizing

Instructions

 

Step 1

• Preheat the oven to 285ºF or 140ºC, fan oven to 266ºF or 130ºC and place the rack into the middle of the oven.

  Add the egg yolks and sugar to a stainless steel bowl.

  Place the cream into a pot. Split the vanilla pod longways and with the blade of a knife carefully scrap out the aromatic vanilla seeds. Add them to the cream along with the whole pod.

  Bring the cream to a boil, be careful not to scold it or let it boil over. When boiled remove from the heat and let stand for 1 – 2 minutes.
  

Step 2

• Now start whisking the egg yolks and sugar. SLOWLY start adding the cream, bit by bit, whisking all the time. This will gradually temper and heat the egg yolks.

  After you’ve incorporated all the cream with the sugar and yolks, heat a pot of water to a simmer. Place the stainless steel bowl over the pot of simmering water making sure the bowl isn’t touching the water.

  Vigorously whisk the mixture making sure it doesn’t get too hot and overcook the eggs.

  Now pass the creme brulee mixture through a fine sieve into a suitable-sized jug. This will catch any lumps that could have formed and will also catch the access foamy bubbles that were created from the vigorous whisking.
  

Step 3

• The size of the ramekins I’m using is 4oz or 113gms. Before you pour the creme brulee mixture into the ramekins cut the passion fruit in half and scrape out the pulp into the bottom of the ramekins.

  Slowly pour the mixture into the ramekins, don’t fill them up to the rim. You want to fill them about 2cm or 0.7in below the rim. This will stop them from spilling over when cooking.
  

Step 4

• Carefully place the ramekins into a high-sided baking tray that has a cloth towel or paper towel lining the bottom. Now pour boiling water into the baking tray which should come up about a quarter of the way up the side of the ramekins.

  Place the passion fruit creme brulee into the preheated oven for 18 – 20 minutes. by this time the creme brulee should have just set, if you lightly tape them the center should wobble. Remove the creme brulee from the oven and remove them from the water bath.

  Leave them to sit on your bench for 5 minutes, the residual heat in the ramekins will just finish the creme brulee off nicely. Then place them into a container and put them into your fridge for at least 3 hours or until they are completely cold, then cover them with plastic wrap. You can leave them in the fridge for 24 hours.
  

Step 5

• Sprinkle an even layer of castor sugar over the passion fruit creme brulee, light the blow torch and start to caramelize the top of the creme brulee.

  Be careful, you don’t want to burn the sugar so much that it becomes black and intensely bitter. Lightly caramelize the top until it becomes a rich golden color. Let stand for 1 minute after you’ve finished.
  

Keywords Creme Brulee, Egg Yolks, Passion Fruit

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Serving Size: 1 Passion fruit creme brulee.
Calories 459 | Total Fat 29.8 g | Carbohydrates 38.4 g | Fiber 1.9 g | Protein 5.1 g | Iron 0.8 mg

Passionfruit Creme Brulee Simple Yet Difficult

Creme brulee with passion fruit is amazing, the tart fresh taste of the passionfruit enhances the creme brulee. This is a dessert I have made countless times as a chef.

This is an excellent dessert to make ahead of time and can be caramelized just before serving. Fantastic dessert for a dinner party or special occasion.

There is something magical about cracking the rich golden caramelized sugar top to get to the sweet elegant baked custard. This is my favorite dessert, amazingly simple yet deceptively complicated.

This is a recipe you’ll need to try. Passion fruit creme brulee doesn’t get any better than this, this recipe will impress your family and friends.