With only six ingredients and this step-by-step guide, you too can make crème brûlée in your home kitchen — no torch or special equipment required! This Bourbon Vanilla Crème Brûlée is a fun twist on the classic that has just the right balance of boozy and creamy, with that glass-like sugar crust that we all love. And to top it off — this recipe can easily be made dairy-free!

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream or full fat coconut milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 4 teaspoons for topping

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Place four 6-ounce ramekins in a baking dish. In a saucepan, combine cream, vanilla bean, and salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture is bubbling around the edges and steaming. Set aside to steep for a few minutes.
• In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, until light. Whisk in the bourbon. Discard vanilla bean from cream mixture. Stir about 1/2 cup of the cream into the egg yolk mixture. Gradually whisk in remaining cream.
• Strain mixture with a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup. Pour custard into ramekins, dividing equally. Fill baking dish with boiling water until it reaches half way up ramekins.
• Bake for 30-50 minutes, or until center is barely set. The cook time here will depend on your oven, convection ovens will take less time than a standard oven. Remove ramekins from water and let cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours.
• When ready to serve, top each custard with about a teaspoon of sugar in a thin layer. Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch. If you don't have a kitchen torch, you can caramelize the sugar using your oven. Simply place ramekins in a cold oven 2 to 3 inches from heat source and turn on the broiler. Cook until sugar melts and browns or even blackens a bit, about 5 minutes. Allow the creme brûlée to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve within two hours of brûléeing.

Notes

• Make Ahead: You can make and store in the fridge for up to 4 days ahead. At the last minute, just sprinkle the sugar on top and brûlée as directed above!

Recipe from The North + West Kitchen