This is one of those desserts you make when you want the table to go quiet for a moment. While the ramekins sit in their water bath in the oven, the kitchen smells like cream, honey and cinnamon. You don't have to do much - the oven does the work - and you can focus on the rest of dinner.
At a glance
⏲️ Prep: 10 min • 🔥 Bake: 35 min • ❄️ Cooling: 3 hours • 🍽️ Yield: 4 portions
🥄 Calories: 620 kcal per portion (approx.)
⭐ Difficulty: medium (simple, but needs attention to baking time)
🥛 Main ingredients: cream, honey, egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon
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Cinnamon Crème Brûlée with Honey Twist
This cinnamon honey crème brûlée is a silky, baked custard with warm cinnamon and soft honey sweetness, finished with a crunchy caramel sugar top. It looks restaurant-fancy, but uses simple ingredients and a straightforward method.
Why this works
- Make-ahead friendly: You can bake the custards hours in advance and just caramelize the sugar before serving.
- Simple ingredient list: Cream, honey, egg yolks, sugar and cinnamon. No fancy products required.
- Water bath baking: The custards bake gently and stay smooth and creamy, not scrambled.
- Warm spice twist: The cinnamon and honey give extra flavor compared to a plain crème brûlée.
What You'll Need
Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Cream: Gives the custard its rich, silky texture.
- Honey: Adds sweetness and a light floral note that pairs with cinnamon.
- Egg yolks: Thicken the custard and give a smooth mouthfeel.
- Sugar: Mixed into the custard.
- Cinnamon: Ground, for the topping; brings warmth without overpowering.
- Salt: Just a pinch to balance the sweetness.
- Dark brown sugar: For the classic caramelized top with deep flavor.
How to Make It
Full step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card.
- Step 1: Whisk egg yolks with sugar until light and slightly thickened.
- Step 2: Heat cream with honey and a pinch of salt until hot (not boiling). Slowly whisk the warm cream mixture into the yolks, then pour into ramekins.
- Step 3: Bake the ramekins in a hot water bath until just set, cool and chill.
- Step 4: Before serving, cover with brown sugar and cinnamon and caramelize with a torch or under the broiler.
Top Tips
- Temper slowly: Add the warm cream to the yolks gradually while whisking, so the eggs don't scramble.
- Don't boil the cream: Heat it until it's steaming and small bubbles form at the edge, then remove from the heat.
- Use hot water for the bath: Pour boiling water into the baking dish so the custards start cooking gently right away.
- Check doneness early: The center should still wobble slightly when you gently shake the dish; it sets further while cooling.
- Chill completely: Give the custards at least 2-3 hours in the fridge so they are fully set and cold.
- Thin sugar layer: Use a thin, even layer of brown sugar so it melts and caramelizes instead of burning.
- Serve right after caramelizing: The top is at its crispiest in the first 20-30 minutes.
- No torch? Use the broiler: Place the ramekins close under a hot grill and watch constantly; it goes fast.
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📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
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Ingredients
Crème brûlée
- 2¼ cups heavy cream
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 6 egg yolks, size L
- 4 tablespoons sugar
Topping
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
Crème brûlée
- Preheat the oven to 300 °F.
- Place a baking dish in the oven that is large enough to hold 4 ramekins.
- Boil water in a kettle for the water bath.
- In a saucepan, heat the cream with the honey and a pinch of salt over low heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat.2¼ cups heavy cream, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons honey
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is light yellow and slightly thickened.6 egg yolks, 4 tablespoons sugar
- While whisking, slowly pour the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks in a thin stream.
- Divide the custard mixture between the ramekins. Place the ramekins in the baking dish in the oven.
- Carefully pour the hot water into the baking dish around the ramekins until the water reaches about halfway up the sides.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, until the custards are just set and still have a slight wobble in the center.
- Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
- Place the ramekins in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2-3 hours, until completely cold.
Before serving
- Mix the dark brown sugar with the cinnamon. Sprinkle an even layer on top of each custard.2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch until melted and crispy. If you don't have a torch, place the ramekins under a hot oven grill for a few minutes, watching closely.
- Serve as soon as the sugar top is crisp.
Notes
- Vanilla cinnamon brûlée: Add a little vanilla extract or vanilla bean to the cream for extra depth.
- Orange cinnamon brûlée: Add some orange zest to the cream for a citrus twist.
- Coffee honey brûlée: Replace part of the cream with strong coffee for a coffee-honey version (keep the same total liquid).
- Fridge: Keep the baked, cooled custards (without the sugar topping) covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Freezer: Not recommended; the texture becomes grainy after freezing and thawing.
- Serving: Remove from the fridge about 10 to 15 minutes before serving, add the sugar-cinnamon topping and caramelize.
Nutrition
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