Double Chocolate Creme Brulee – No Bake and No Blowtorch

Creamy and velvety chocolate custard topped with a crisp, shatterable chocolate layer retains the decadence of classic crème brûlée and none of the fuss. Double chocolate creme brulee is elegant and suitable for special occasions or Valentine’s, quick and easy to make, and scaleable (current recipe makes one large ramekin for sharing between two).

A shortcut variation to a classic dessert

While the classic creme brulee is much beloved, it can be a bit of a hassle to make. We are all about eliminating unnecessary steps here, and I think you can retain the essence of creme brulee without any baking and without acquiring a blowtorch.

⏱️ Do you only want to make a single or double serving of creme brulee? Don’t want to turn on the oven for an hour-long process of gentle cooking and cooling? Good news: the stove top method works just as well to give you that velvety custard while shortening the cooking time substantially!

? Perhaps radical, but chocolate gives you that same satisfying crack as caramelized sugar ? – no blowtorch needed.

Differences from regular creme brulee

This is a shortcut recipe and a variation on creme brulee. I have intentionally made it different in the following ways but read on to find out how you can make it more similar to classic creme brulee:

• I intentionally reduced the fat percentage by lightening the cream with some milk. Personally, I dislike when a filmy layer attaches to metal spoons – this happens due to the richness of the cream and egg yolks and can be avoided by reducing the fat content. However, if you prefer a creamier dessert, simply replace the milk amount with cream so that the entire recipe uses 1 cup of whipping cream.
• Because this is a stove top custard, it will not be as “set” around the edges as a baked custard. If you prefer a more set custard, you can bake it in a water bath, but this will defeat the shortcut nature of the recipe. Admittedly, creme brulee is not super difficult to make considering the full spectrum of desserts, but the stovetop method will get dessert into your mouth a relatively faster.
• The most obvious difference is the chocolate topping! If you own a blowtorch by all means top with sugar and fire away before serving – the base recipe for the stove top custard will work just as well with a sugar topping caramelized by blowtorch.

Pros and cons of the chocolate topping versus other no blowtorch creme brulee methods

I find the biggest issue with the chocolate topping is getting it to set in a thin, even layer. Speed is essential because the chocolate will set quite quickly once it touches the chilled custard. This is mainly an aesthetics issue, if you are not too much of a perfectionist about the smoothness of the chocolate, this may not be an issue at all. Also, unsatisfactory parts can be covered over with decorative elements like powdered sugar, fruit, or whipped cream.

If you want a truly even and perfect chocolate layer, you can use special plastic sheets or parchment paper to make chocolate thins. Personally, this seems like an extremely high-effort cost for perfectionism and I don’t think I will be doing this for my creme brulee needs ?.

Other no blowtorch methods for caramelizing sugar

I am aware of two no-blowtorch methods for caramelizing the sugar for creme brulee: the broiler method and the stovetop method.

Using the broiler to caramelize sugar for creme brulee is certainly possible, but I find the caramelization to be very uneven. Perhaps it depends on the oven, but my gas oven gives me splotches of burnt sugar while leaving other areas still pale.

The alternative is to caramelize sugar in a pot on the stovetop and then pour the piping-hot caramel over the individual custards. While the caramelization will be even, this method will yield a very thick crust/topping that will be more difficult to break through. Like the chocolate topping, you will have to work quickly as caramel sets fast. Disclaimer: I have not tried the stovetop caramel method with my shortcut creme brulee recipe; because my custard is slightly softer than a baked custard, I am somewhat concerned that the hot caramel will make a divot in the custard.

If you find these methods to be unsatisfactory, the second alternative is to use chocolate instead! Personally, I think blowtorching sugar yields the best topping judged on a scale of thinness and “crackle” ability. However, the chocolate topping is superior to other no-blowtorch methods.

What kind of chocolate should I use?

You can use any chocolate, but I recommend using a high quality dark chocolate (I used a 81% dark chocolate from Ritter Sport). When buying chocolate, I always check the ingredient list to make sure that there is a high percentage of cocoa mass and minimal fillers.

It is worth noting that the chocolate used will substantially affect the taste of the final product. If you use a very sweet (or on the other end of the scale, a very dark chocolate), the amount of sugar should be adjusted accordingly. For best results, I recommend tasting the chocolate mixture at step 1 of the instructions, and then adjusting the sugar according.