Few desserts convey the elegance of a well-made crème brûlée.
Smooth, rich custard topped with a nutty, crunchy caramelized crust served regally in a gleaming white ramekin – how divine!
It adds an unmistakable touch of class to any affair and despite its outward sophisticated appearance, it’s very easy to make.
While there is no shortage of flavorful recipes for crème brûlée, one of the most common misunderstandings about this classic dessert is the best temperature at which to serve it.
If that’s what’s brought you here, you’re in luck!
Of course, we’ll dig deep and reveal all the reasons you’ll want to ensure your dessert is served as close to perfection as possible.
So, does that mean it should serve your crème brûlée cold?
The short answer is no, crème brûlée is best not served cold. Ideally, you’ll want to serve the custard portion of it cool or, at the most, slightly chilled.
With that said, let’s answer some of the most common questions we see about this topic.
How Long Should Crème Brûlée Chill before Serving?
Long before you concern yourself with the best temperature to serve crème brûlée at, let’s take a step back and look at why it’s refrigerated in the first place.
The reason you chill crème brûlée first is to ensure that the custard portion has the perfect consistency to support the caramelized sugar layer. For the torching to work properly, the texture of the custard must be an ideal blend of cool temperature along with a firm, yet slightly wobbly texture.
To have any hope of achieving this, your crème brûlée will require a period of refrigeration after it’s cooked and been allowed to cool to room temperature first.
In most cases, this will mean keeping it in the fridge for up to an hour. Obviously, you’ll need to make adjustments to this if your refrigerator is colder or warmer.
Is Crème Brûlée Served Cold?
To reiterate, crème brûlée is best served chilled, not cold, but the answer to this question is part art, part science.
First the artistic portion.
A perfectly chilled crème brûlée will impart a sleek mouthfeel – creamy, rich and with a satisfying crunchy finish. When achieved, crème brûlée truly shines, but if any element is off, so too will be the experience of that first, crucial bite.
So, now that we know what we want to achieve, how does science help?
If you’ve kept your crème brûlée in the fridge prior to serving, which you should, then you’ll need to let it warm slightly prior to torching it.
The reason for that is when you remove the cold crème brûlée from the refrigerator and attempt to torch it right away, there’s a risk of condensation interfering with the caramelized layer. Because the crème brûlée is cold, it increases the time required for the sugar to adequately heat and caramelize. This lag time gives condensation an opportunity to appear and will make it very difficult for the hard caramel layer to form.
By allowing the cold to dissipate from the crème brûlée first, you’ll reduce the chance of this happening.
| Serving Temperature | Mouthfeel | Risk of Condensation | Torching |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chilled | Creamy, rich, and crunchy | Low | Recommended after letting it sit out of the refrigerator for a bit |
| Cold | Risk of poor experience and condensation | High | Not recommended |
What Temp Is Crème Brûlée Served?
An ideal temperature for serving crème brûlée would be slightly cooler than room temperature.
That should give you the ability to apply enough torch heat to the sugar layer without burning the custard portion of the dessert.
If it’s too warm, you risk damaging the delicate structure of the custard. Conversely, if it’s too cold, you risk creating a layer of condensation between the sugar layer and the custard during torching. If this happens, the sugar will not caramelize properly and adhere to the surface of the custard.
| Temperature | Effect on Crème Brûlée |
|---|---|
| Slightly cooler than room temperature | Ideal for torching sugar layer without burning custard |
| Too warm | Risk of damaging delicate structure of custard |
| Too cold | Risk of condensation between sugar and custard, preventing proper caramelization and adherence |
Is Crème Brûlée Supposed to Be Cold in the Middle?
As stated earlier, it’s best to serve your crème brûlée cool or slightly chilled, and that includes the middle portion of the dessert.
However, this will require you to have adequate time to allow the dessert to warm up in a uniform way.
If that’s not possible, having the center of your crème brûlée a little colder will not have the same negative impact on the flavor that would result from the entire dessert being cold.
While it’s not ideal, you can still serve crème brûlée that is a little cold in the middle, but if at all possible, do your best to avoid it.
Should You Reheat Crème Brûlée?
If you’ve read this far, then it’s likely you already know the answer to this question.
Since crème brûlée is ideally served chilled, reheating it is not recommended since it will make the custard unstable and prevent proper caramelization of the sugar layer on top.
This recommendation is even more important if you’re thinking of reheating crème brûlée you’ve previously torched but not eaten.
Chances are good you will not be happy with the taste and texture of it if you wait longer than a couple of days to eat it.
The reason for this is that after you’ve torched the dessert and placed it back in the fridge, you’ve given the sugar layer a chance to absorb moisture. Sugar does this well enough at room temperature, but even better in a cold fridge.
As it does, your once crispy, crunchy layer on top will soften and, given enough time, eventually turn into a gooey mess.
Since no one wants that, it’s best to limit the time you’ve placed previously torched crème brûlée in the fridge to a minimum and for crème brûlée you haven’t torched, don’t bother heating it up.
Instead, just remove it from the refrigerator, allow it to warm to a chilled state, torch and enjoy!
| Action | Result | Taste |
|---|---|---|
| Don’t heat up Crème Brûlée that hasn’t been torched | Recommended for best taste and texture | Best |
| Limit time of previously torched Crème Brûlée in fridge | Recommended to maintain crispiness of sugar layer | Good |
| Reheat Crème Brûlée | Not recommended as it will make the custard unstable and prevent proper caramelization of the sugar layer on top | Poor |
| Reheat previously torched Crème Brûlée | Chances of not liking the taste and texture of it if you wait longer than a couple of days to eat it. | Very Poor |
| Reheat Crème Brûlée that was torched and placed in fridge | Sugar layer will absorb moisture, softening and eventually turning into a gooey mess. | Very Poor |