Dairy-free Crème Brûlée Recipe | Healthy Home Economist

A delicious and dairy-free crème brûlée recipe that uses whole food ingredients with no refined sugar. It’s an awesome alternative when raw heavy cream from your local farm is in limited supply.

Classic crème brûlée is one of my all-time favorite desserts. Not surprisingly, it is one of the oldest recipes on this blog as well 🙂

The key ingredient in crème brûlée is heavy cream, which I source from a local dairy farm in all its grassfed, fat-soluble vitamin glory!

Unfortunately, this gourmet item is often in short supply such as during calving season.

So, I’ve devised an alternative method for making crème brûlée that uses coconut cream instead.

I’ll be honest, this dairy-free version is not quite as delectable as crème brûlée made with heavy cream the traditional French way, but it works great in a pinch or when you will be having guests for dinner that might be dairy intolerant.

Serving Tips

While you can make this dessert in any size ramekin, I suggest using the large 8-ounce versions.

While the dessert portion using large ramekins is definitely oversized, it is less work and a bit easier to melt the sugar crust evenly.

Sharing one ramekin at the table with a loved one is an easy way to reduce the portion.

Alternatively, use the small 4-ounce ramekins for dinner parties or other celebratory occasions.

* Note that the crust will not be smooth and glossy using unrefined sugar like when using refined white sugar. This is normal, but still crunchy and tasty!

Dairy-free Crème Brûlée Recipe

Healthy, low sugar, and dairy-free crème brûlée recipe that uses only four whole ingredients.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F/ 177 °C.

2. In a medium-sized pot, warm the coconut cream with the vanilla on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes. Do not bring to a boil. 

3. Beat egg yolks with the sugar until smooth and well blended. Stir the hot coconut cream slowly into the yolk mixture.

4. Pour the blended liquid into 4-5 large ramekins or equivalent size, oven-safe dish.

5. Set the ramekins in a large pan filled to about 1″ with warm water. Bake for 50-60 minutes in the preheated oven until the custard sets and forms a lightly browned crust on top.

6. Let custards cool, cover lightly with a clean cotton towel, and chill for 4 hours in the refrigerator.

7. To serve, sprinkle 1.5 teaspoons of unrefined sugar evenly over the top of each ramekin.

8. Use a torch to melt the sugar on the top of each ramekin (about 2 minutes per ramekin). I recommend using a torch instead of the broiler as unrefined sugar melts faster than white sugar and can easily burn. Using a torch allows more precision. Note that the crust will not be as smooth as when using white sugar.

9. Return the ramekins to the refrigerator until the melted sugar forms a firm crust. Serve very cold.

Nutrition Facts

Dairy-free Crème Brûlée Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 large ramekin)

Calories 576
Calories from Fat 468

% Daily Value*

Fat 52g80%

Saturated Fat 43g215%

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 7g

Cholesterol 368mg123%

Potassium 521mg15%

Carbohydrates 25g8%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 379IU8%

Calcium 58mg6%

Iron 2.75mg15%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.