This incredible Creme Brulee Cake is a heavenly combination of vanilla cake with creamy custard and caramelized sugar.
This dessert features layers of moist vanilla cake, topped with a luscious creme brulee custard, and topped with a caramelized sugar crust.
The contrasting textures of the soft cake, velvety custard, and crunchy caramel create a delightful sensory experience.
Creme brulee cake is perfect for those who appreciate the classic flavors of creme brulee but also crave the added decadence of a cake.
Whether enjoyed as an elegant treat at special occasions or as an everyday indulgence, this dessert is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.
For more cake recipes, check out my lemon ricotta cake, almond flour chocolate cake, crack cake, and Nutella cake.
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Why this recipe works
- Vanilla cake- this cake is made with a moist and tender vanilla cake that comes together in one bowl and will melt in your mouth.
- Pastry cream topping- this delicious creme brulee cake is topped with a creamy and rich pastry cream that is then topped with a burnt sugar layer.
- Burnt sugar crust- this cake is topped with granulated or caster sugar which is burnt with a torch and creates a burnt sugar layer just like in creme brulee!
- Creme brulee flavor- this cake taste like creme brulee in cake form! It has a strong vanilla flavor with a fluffy and creamy texture with the iconic burnt sugar topping.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
For the cake
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this cake.
Eggs- you will need 3 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder– baking powder allows the cake to rise. Make sure that your baking powder is not expired.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Milk– gives the cake extra moisture. Use whole milk for this recipe.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Vinegar- is the secret ingredient that makes this cake extra moist and tender. You will need two teaspoons of vinegar for this recipe.
Sour cream- use either sour cream or Greek yogurt. Both will work great.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the pastry cream
Milk- use room temperature whole milk.
Egg yolks- you will need 4 egg yolks for this recipe. Use large eggs.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract adds extra flavor. For extra vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean extract or an actual vanilla bean!
Granulated sugar– granulated sugar works best for this recipe, but caster sugar can work as well.
Cornstarch- you will need cornstarch to thicken the cream.
Instructions
Make the vanilla pastry cream
Place a saucepan over high heat and fill it with the milk and vanilla extract. Bring it to a simmer, and remove from heat. Scoop ¼ cup of the milk and set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, add the sugar and cornstarch. Mix with a whisk until combined. Add the egg yolks and mix. Gradually add the ¼ cup of milk and mix constantly with a whisk.
Finally, add the butter and mix until the butter melts.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover it with a plastic wrap tightly. Place the bowl in the fridge to set and cool for a few hours.
Make the vanilla cake
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9x9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, add the soft butter, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth for about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs, vinegar, vegetable oil, and sour cream, and mix until creamy.
Add ½ of the flour and ½ of the milk, and baking powder and mix it until almost combined.
Add the rest of the flour and milk and mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible.
Pour the cake batter into a prepared 9 by 9 inch pan with parchment paper and smooth it out with a spatula.
Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 40-45 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to reach room temperature for at least 1 hour.
Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and loosen up the pastry cream by whisking it with a whisk. Top the cake with the pastry cream and smooth it out with an offset spatula.
Top the pastry cream with granulated sugar or caster sugar. Broil with a torch moving the torch in secular motions. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers. Click here for the Amazon link.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making this, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the batter.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Faq's
Creme brulee cake is made with a vanilla cake and is topped with pastry cream, and then topped with a layer of sugar that is burnt with a torch.
The taste of this cake is a perfect balance of sweetness and creaminess from the vanilla cake and pastry cream with hints of caramelized sugar on top.
We use all-purpose flour for this cake, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Yes! You can double or even triple this recipe. If you double this recipe, I recommend using a 9x13 inch baking pan!
Storing
This cake will last up to 4 in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. The burnt sugar will stay crispy for only a few hours so I recommend serving it with the burnt sugar immediately.
If you don't serve the cake right away, don't top it with burnt sugar, burn the sugar on top only when you are ready to serve.
Freezing
Freeze this cake after it cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months.
Our tip is not to freeze it decorated or covered with frosting, because it can ruin the decorating of the cake, and make it soggy. We suggest freezing the cake layers, defrosting them, and assembling them.
Make it ahead of time
To make this cake ahead of time, make the vanilla cake a day ahead of time and assemble it with the pastry cream and burnt sugar topping before serving so the cake will stay fresh and not soggy!
Or, you can make this cake ahead by freezing the cake without the pastry cream ahead of time. Wrap the cake with a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours or in the fridge overnight. Then, make a fresh pastry cream and follow the rest of the instructions as written.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - you can make this cake dairy-free by replacing the butter with vegan butter and replacing the milk with vegan milk. Also, use a dairy free pastry cream.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
Chocolate- you can make this cake into a chocolate creme brulee cake by making a chocolate cake, use my small chocolate cake for this. And make a chocolate pastry cream.
Add ins- you can add your favorite adds ins to the cake like chopped nuts like chopped pecans or chopped walnuts, or add mini white chocolate chips.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- 9 by 9 inch pan
- Saucepan
More creme brulee recipes
Easy Creme Brulee- This creme brulee recipe is made with only 4 ingredients and it's the best creme brulee that I've ever had!
Creme Brulee Cheesecake- This creme brulee cheesecake is creamy, thick, and custardy, made with a graham cracker crust, and topped with a burnt caramel shell on top, just like creme brulee!
Chocolate Creme Brulee- This chocolate creme brulee has a silky pudding custard consistency and is topped with a crispy caramelized sugar layer that is simply irresistible.
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If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Incredible Creme Brulee Cake
Ingredients
For the pastry cream
- 1 ½ cups Milk
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract or even better, vanilla bean extract or vanilla bean
- 5 Egg yolks
- ⅔ cup Granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon Butter
For the vanilla cake
- 5 ½ tablespoon Butter
- 1 ⅓ cups Granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vinegar
- ⅓ cup Vegetable oil
- ¼ cup Sour cream
- ¾ cup Milk
- 2 cups Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
Instructions
Make the pastry cream
- Place a saucepan over high heat and fill it with the milk and vanilla extract. Bring it to a simmer, and remove from heat. Scoop ¼ cup of the milk and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the sugar and cornstarch. Mix with a whisk until combined. Add the egg yolks and mix. Gradually add the ¼ cup of milk and mix constantly with a whisk.
- Mix constantly with a whisk until the mixture thickens. Don't increase the heat, be patient it will be worth it!
- Finally, add the butter and mix until the butter melts.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover it with a plastic wrap tightly. Place the bowl in the fridge to set and cool for a few hours.
Make the vanilla cake
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9x9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the soft butter, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth for about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, vinegar, vegetable oil, and sour cream, and mix until creamy.
- Add ½ of the flour and ½ of the milk, and baking powder and mix it until almost combined.
- Add the rest of the flour and milk and mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible.
- Pour the cake batter into a prepared 9 by 9 inch pan with parchment paper and smooth it out with a spatula.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 40-45 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to reach room temperature for at least 1 hour.
- Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and loosen up the pastry cream by whisking it with a whisk. Top the cake with the pastry cream and smooth it out with an offset spatula.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers. Click here for the Amazon link.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making this, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the batter.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
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