It isn’t Christmastime until I’ve had my first glass of eggnog. Eggnog is a truly special treat that most enjoy only at Christmas. Although my entire family enjoys a glass with meals, especially on Christmas Day, many of us don’t drink more than a glass at a time. How about a bite of this eggnog dessert?!
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This rich, flavorful drink packs a delicious flavor that I felt needed to be enjoyed into dessert time. I created this Eggnog Crème Brûlée recipe for everyone that loves eggnog and would like to enjoy it another way this season.
Eggnog Crème Brûlée Recipe
This Eggnog Crème Brûlée recipe is perfect for entertaining all season long. It is a rich, velvety dessert with a classic caramelized sugar top. Although often found in fancy-schmancy restaurants, this recipe is surprisingly easy to prepare. Watch the how-to video on Smith’s website.
| Servings |
- 2 c SMITH's Eggnog
- 2 c SMITH's Heavy whipping cream
- 7 Egg Yolks
- 1/3 c plus 1 TBSP superfine sugar divided
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 vanilla bean halved and seeded
- 1 tbsp Brown sugar
Ingredients
| |
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine SMITH's eggnog, SMITH's heavy whipping cream, egg yolks and 1/3 cup superfine sugar in large saucepan.
- Cook eggnog mixture on medium heat until it is 160°, stirring often.
- Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla been seeds.
- Fill 6-10 ramekins.
- Place ramekins on 9x13 pan, fill pan with 1 inch of boiling water, about 1/2 way up your ramekins.
- Cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the centers are set.
- Remove ramekins with tongs and place in another pan. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, combine 1 TBSP brown sugar and 1 TBSP superfine sugar and sprinkle about ¼ - ½ tsp of sugar mixture on top of each Eggnog Crème Brûlée.
- If using a torch, heat sugar in circular motion until it caramelizes. Serve immediately.
- If not using a torch, broil about 8 inches from heat for 3-5 minutes or until sugar caramelizes.
- Serve with garnish of fresh pomegranate seeds, raspberries, or blueberries.
Combining eggnog with a crème brûléee recipe is a brilliant idea if I do say so myself. It makes a very special dessert for any Christmas gathering. This decadent, creamy dessert is sure to impress anyone you serve, especially with the caramelized top. Don’t worry, it is easy to make.
The main ingredient in this recipe is SMITH’s Eggnog. SMITH’s Eggnog is my favorite brand, made locally here in Ohio. It has a delicious flavor and not too heavy like some. SMITH’s Dairy has been recognized for their high quality standards, quality, and for production quality excellence of milk products. This local Orrville, Ohio company has been providing Ohioans quality dairy products since 1909.
This recipe works great with either original or light SMITH’s Eggnog. Using SMITH’s Eggnog is not only delicious but makes this recipe quick and healthy too (no worries about making it at home with raw eggs!).
Combine SMITH’s Eggnog with SMITH’s heavy whipping cream, egg yolks (beaten), and superfine sugar.
Superfine sugar is preferred but not required for this recipe. It is mostly beneficial for caramelizing the top. Heat the eggnog mixture over medium heat on the stove until 160°F, stirring often. Once it reaches 160°F, remove from heat and add the spices.
My kids enjoy cooking and baking with me. When my daughter saw I had eggnog out for this recipe, she was eager to help. I had no idea what an enjoyable experience it would be to create this recipe with her. We had fun combining various spices to get this perfectly Christmas-themed dessert for you to enjoy. The combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla bean is truly amazing in this recipe.
If you can, use a real vanilla bean. It adds incredible flavor to this recipe. Slice the bean length-wise and remove the seeds.
If you don’t have a vanilla bean, feel free to use 1 tsp vanilla extract. When we added the vanilla bean seeds to the eggnog and whipping cream mixture, my daughter’s eyes light up in amazement as she realized that was the flavor she loves the most in cinnamon swirl bread! It was a priceless moment for us. When we have our kids cook and bake with us, it teaches them so much and gives them an appreciation for real food for the rest of their lives.
This recipe can serve up to 10 people, it depends on the size of your ramekins. The shallower the better, providing you with a larger surface area for the caramelized sugar, which is the famous factor of crème brûlée. I used standard 6 oz ramekins and made 6 servings.
Once you fill the ramekins, place them on a 9×13 pan. You may need two if you are preparing 10 servings. Place pan in oven, next carefully pour boiling water into the pan. You’ll want the water to reach about 1/2 way up the ramekins.
Be careful not to get this water into the ramekins or it will ruin the recipe. This hot water bath will bake your eggnog crème brûlée gently and evenly to give you a silky-smooth, velvety dessert. Cover with aluminum foil or the top will brown too much.
Bake for 60 minutes or until the centers are set. Remove the ramekins from the 9×13 pan with tongs and allow to cool on your counter for 15 minutes. Next, place on another tray and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight – yes, you can make this recipe ahead-of-time, up to 3 days, making it perfect for enjoying on Christmas Day.
When you are ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator. Dab the tops with a paper towel if there is any moisture. Mix the remaining 1 TBSP of superfine sugar and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of the sugar mixture to the top of the eggnog crème brûlée. Now comes the fun part! If you have a kitchen torch, heat the sugar in a slow circular motion until it caramelizes. Although my daughter is old enough to help in the kitchen, even at the stove, I keep the torch for adult-use only.
If you don’t have a kitchen torch, you really should look into getting one, they are less than 20 minutes and add such a fun element of fanciness and makes you look like a culinary genius when it comes to dishes like crème brûlée, sear a steak, grill greens, roast peppers, brown meringues, sear tomato skins, melt cheese on French onion soup, and make amazing s’mores anytime of year. The crispy caramelized sugar shell is what makes crème brûlée such a unique dessert.
Serve your Eggnog Crème Brûlée with pride and fresh fruit. I like to use fresh mint leaves and either pomegranate seeds or raspberries for a festive poinsettia look. It also taste great with fresh blueberries.
I hope that you enjoy this recipe creation that my daughter and I created especially for this Christmas season. It truly is a special dessert to share with friends and family.
As a reminder, I use SMITH’s Dairy products often because they comes from local dairy farms that do not use rbST, the synthetic growth hormone that increases milk production in cows. This is important to know and understand because rbST is used in many other brands but is banned in other countries. I trust SMITH’s and the local farmers that provide their cows with a healthful environment and quality care.
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