This easy keto creme brulee recipe will become one of your go-to low-carb desserts for the holidays or any special occasion. With a simple blend of sweetener, eggs, and whipping cream, then baked in a water bath, the ultimate creme brulee without sugar is both easy yet impressive, and definitely a WHOLE LOTTA YUM.
Low Carb Creme Brulee
We first started making creme brûlée as our Christmas Eve dessert 19 years ago. I'm a sucker for sticking to family traditions but when I was pregnant with my son and hosted my first holiday dinner, I realized that my family Christmas recipe of rum pudding had raw eggs in it!
So that started a new tradition of making creme brulee every year, it became an instant family favorite and is a holiday dessert we've eaten for 18 years now.
We love to pair our low carb creme brulee with homemade low-carb whipping cream. Or, if we are creating a table filled with holiday desserts, keto rum balls, sugar-free chocolate covered almonds, and microwave keto peanut butter fudge create a lovely table.
Why You'll Love This!
- With just 4 ingredients needed, this keto creme brulee recipe is a simple yet elegant dessert that you can make right in your own home.
- While a kitchen torch can make it easier, you don't need any special tools or fancy gadgets to make this low carb creme brulee dessert.
- Sweetened with monkfruit or erythritol, our creme brulee recipe is keto, low-carb, sugar-free, and gluten-free.
- Made without sugar, our keto creme brulee is a dessert that you can enjoy without worrying about messing up your healthy eating lifestyle.
Do you love making keto and low-carb desserts in your home? We may be trying to steer clear of sugars, but there is a sweet tooth that cannot be ignored. Thankfully, with recipes such as keto whipping cream, keto chocolate mouse, low-carb raspberry custard pie, and keto blondies, we can have our sugar-free cake and eat it, too. 😉
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Ingredient Notes
You'll be surprised that such a fancy seeming dessert has so few ingredients! There are only 4 items in easy low carb creme brulee recipe, you'll seriously be wondering why you've never tried it before once you see how simple this elegant dessert can be.
- heavy whipping cream
- egg yolks
- egg white
- monkfruit or erythritol
- vanilla extract
Variations
While I have not tried these sweeteners, I’m a big fan of using up what I have in the cupboard (which is why my recipes often vary between using monk fruit or erythritol). I believe you could make these swaps:
- Use powdered erythritol to mix in to the custard.
- Sprinkle golden erythritol or monkfruit on top.
- Use a thin layer of Lakanto’s maple syrup for the top sugar layer. I want to try this and wonder if it’d give a nice solid crisp sugar layer more so than erythritol?
Step by Step Instructions
Low carb creme brulee is a sugar-free version is a simple yet elegant French custard dessert that is baked in a water bath, cooled, and then topped with a layer of caramelized sugar.
Prep
Beat the 4 egg yolks, 1 egg white, and ½ cup of monk fruit on low speed until blended. It’ll be a light yellow thick color. Set aside, but leave in the mixer.
Scald the cream in a small-medium saucepan. Do not let it simmer or come to a boil. If it gets overheated it could burn on the bottom of the pan. This took us 5-6 minutes on medium-low.
Assemble
Add the hot cream to the egg and monk fruit mixture. Beat with the mixer and then add the vanilla, beating again until combined.
Carefully pour the custard into the ramekins, leaving a little space at the top. Put the ramekins into a 9x13 baking pan.
Slowly fill a 9x13 pan ½ way with boiling water.
Bake
Bake the keto creme brulee for about 40-45 mins or until the custard is cooked through. The custard will be set but will still jiggle slightly in the pan. The time can vary based on what size of ramekins you're using, start checking for doneness after 35 minutes.
Remove the custard cups from the hot water and let the ramekins cool for 30 minutes on a baking rack.
Move the low carb creme brulee without sugar to the fridge until completely chilled.
Finish
Gently sprinkle ½ tsp-1 teaspoon of monkfruit or erythritol to the top of each creme brulee dish.
Broil about 2 minutes or until the top melts and starts to darken and caramelize.
Let cool and serve! Top with low carb fruit or keto whipping cream, if desired.
Creme brulee traditionally is served cold, meaning you can put the broiled dishes back in the fridge until it's time to serve the keto creme brulee recipe.
Makes 6 servings with ½ cup (4 oz) ramekins
Recipe Tips
- We highly recommend you use ½ cup (4 0z) ramekins for this dish, the low carb creme brulee recipe is very delicious and rich; a little goes a long way! Since we often served this for Christmas Eve, this usually isn't the only dessert on the table.
- With monkfruit/erythritol, we noticed that the crunchy sweet top started to soften a tiny bit after being in the fridge for longer than an hour. If you want that traditional crisp top, I’d suggest broiling the sugar layer 30 minutes before serving and then just chill slightly until it’s served.
- If making the keto creme brulee recipe is something you’ll make often, you might want to consider a kitchen blow torch. That being said, many use their oven broiler to caramelize the top sugar layer, which I did for this recipe. A kitchen blow torch will give more of a professional, even layered crust but for most people, the spotty top is just fine and TASTES the same.
Common Questions
Top your low-carb creme brulee with our sugar-free whipped cream for a delicious dessert any time or serve your creme brulee alongside a variety of keto desserts including keto rum balls, sugar-free chocolate covered almonds, and microwave keto peanut butter fudge.
Yes, creme brulee is a gluten-free dessert! Made with whipped cream and an egg base, this custard-styled dessert is made without flour or gluten.
After sprinkling ½ tsp-1 teaspoon of sweetener on your cooled keto creme brulee, broil for about 2 mins or until the top melts and starts to darken and caramelize. While a kitchen blow torch will give you a more even burn and professional look, for most home cooks the broil method works just fine.
More Keto Dessert Recipes
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Recipe
Keto Creme Brulee Recipe (Gluten Free, Sugar Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup monk fruit
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 F and position the rack to the center position.
Step 1
- Beat the 4 egg yolks, 1 egg white, and ½ cup of monkfruit on low speed until blended. It’ll be a light yellow thick color. Set aside, but leave in the mixer.
Step 2
- Scald the cream in a small-medium saucepan. Do not let it simmer or come to a boil. If it gets overheated it could burn on the bottom of the pan. This took us 5-6 minutes on medium low.
Step 3
- Add the hot cream to the egg and monkfruit mixture. Beat with the mixer and then add the vanilla, beating again until combined.
Step 4
- Carefully pour the custard into the ramekins, leaving a little space at the top. Put the ramekins into a 9x13 baking pan.
Step 5
- Slowly fill a 9x13 pan ½ way with boiling water.
Step 6
- Bake the keto creme brulee for about 40-45 mins or until the custard is cooked through. The custard will be set but will still jiggle slightly in the pan. The time can vary based on what size of ramekins you're using, start checking for doneness after 35 minutes.
Step 7
- Remove the custard cups from the hot water and let the ramekins cool for 30 mins on a baking rack.
Step 8
- Move the keto gluten-free creme brulee desserts to the fridge until completely chilled.
Step 9
- Gently sprinkle ½ tsp-1 teaspoon of monkfruit or erythritol to the top of each creme brulee dish.
Step 10
- Broil about 2 mins or until the top melts and starts to darken and caramelize.
- Let cool and serve! Top with low carb fruit or keto whipping cream, if desired.
- Creme brulee traditionally is served cold, meaning you can put the broiled dishes back in the fridge until it's time to serve the keto creme brulee recipe.
- Makes 6 servings with ½ cup (4 oz) ramekins
Notes
Nutrition
Mary says
Hi have dinner guests coming and one is diabetic. Want to make cream brûlée can only find Raw Earth Monk Fruit with Stevia will this work just as well
Thank you