Lesson 4 of 5 · Custards & French Desserts

Flavor variations

  • Free video
  • Beginner
  • Custards & Crème Brûlée
  • 5 min
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Video by Everyday Food on YouTube: “Crème Brûlée Demystified - Kitchen Conundrums with Thomas” Watch on YouTube ↗

What you'll learn

Lesson 4 of 5

Master the classic five-ingredient method, then change the flavor with different vanillas, coffee, tea, citrus and spices.

  • Flavor the cream, not the custard ratio
  • Different vanilla origins taste noticeably different
  • Strain out any infused ingredients

Ingredients for this lesson

Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Grade A, 5 BeansVanillaGoods$15.00
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Tahitian Vanilla Beans, Grade B, 5 BeansVanillaGoods$12.00
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Earl Grey TeaLoose leaf / 3oz · VanillaGoods$19.99
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Italian Roast EspressoCoarse / 12oz · VanillaGoods$24.99
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Shop all vanilla beans →

Lesson notes from VanillaGoods

In this video

The video demystifies the classic method with five ingredients. Once you have that down, every variation below uses the same ratio; you only change what goes into the cream.

Flavor ideas

  • Madagascar vanilla: rich, creamy and classic
  • Tahitian vanilla: floral and fruity, lovely with berries
  • Coffee: steep whole espresso beans in the warm cream, then strain
  • Tea: steep Earl Grey or masala chai in the cream for 5–10 minutes
  • Citrus or spice: orange zest, cinnamon or cardamom

Watch for

Taste the cream after infusing; it should be a little stronger than you'd like, because cold desserts taste milder.

← Lesson 3Next: Advanced plating techniques →

Tools for this lesson

The equipment that makes this easier. VanillaGoods vanilla is always our own; these tools are from Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate, VanillaGoods earns from qualifying purchases. We only suggest tools that fit what you're learning.

Put it into practice

Bake along with a VanillaGoods recipe that uses this technique.

Find creme brulee recipes

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