Baked Apple Crème Brûlée
A refined Baked Apple Crème Brûlée where silky vanilla custard is baked directly inside whole apples and enriched with an intense apple purée made from the fruit itself. Crisp caramelized sugar cracks into a silky, elegant, and deeply comforting custard. A show-stopping apple dessert that blends classic crème brûlée technique with pure baked apple flavor.
🍽️ Servings: 2
Apple Purée
Ingredients
- 50g Apple flesh scooped from the apple
- 3g sugar
- 2g lemon juice
Preparation
- Scoop out the apple center, leaving walls 8-10 mm thick; keep the apple shell intact.
- Submerge the empty apple shell briefly in cold water with a few drops of lemon juice for 5-10 minutes to prevent oxidation, then remove and dry thoroughly with paper towels; refrigerate until needed.
- Place the scooped apple flesh in a small saucepan with sugar and lemon juice, cover, and cook gently over low heat until completely soft and translucent.
- Blend the cooked apple flesh into a perfectly smooth purée.
- Return the purée to the saucepan and reduce over very low heat, uncovered, stirring constantly, until thick, glossy, and able to coat a spoon.
- Weigh the purée and reserve exactly 20g for the custard.
- Cool the reserved purée completely before use.
Custard
Ingredients
- 1 egg yolks (24 g)
- 75 g heavy cream
- 15 g sugar
- 20g apple purée (reserved above)
- 0.3 g cinnamon
- pinch of fine salt
- 0.33 vanilla bean
- 1 apple shells
Preparation
- Heat the cream with cinnamon, scraped vanilla seeds and the pod until just steaming, then remove from heat and let infuse for 10 minutes.
- In a bowl, gently whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until smooth and homogeneous, avoiding air incorporation.
- Remove the vanilla pod and slowly whisk the warm cream into the yolk mixture.
- Add the cold apple purée and whisk until perfectly smooth and fully integrated.
- Strain the custard through a fine sieve to ensure a flawless texture.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 120°C.
- Lightly wrap the outside of the apple with aluminum foil, leaving the top opening fully exposed.
- Place the apple upright in a small baking dish.
- Fill the apple with custard almost to the rim.
- Pour hot (not boiling) water into the dish until it reaches halfway up the apple.
- Bake until the custard is just set with a gentle wobble in the center, about 60 minutes.
- Remove the apple from the water bath, cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Brûlée Finish
- 5g sugar for brûlée topping
- Sprinkle a thin, even layer of sugar over the custard surface.
- Torch until deep amber, glassy, and fully caramelized.
Tips & More Info
Choose a firm apple like Honeycrisp or Gala.
Firm apples hold their shape during baking and won’t collapse under the custard.
Why soak the apple shells in lemon water?
This prevents browning after scooping and keeps the apple shells bright, fresh, and visually appealing.
Why cook and reduce the apple purée?
Reducing concentrates the apple flavor and thickens the purée, keeping the custard rich and creamy rather than watery.
Why strain the custard before baking?
This removes any lumps and ensures a silky, velvety texture in the final dessert.
Why bake the custard in a water bath?
Gentle, even heat prevents curdling and gives the custard a perfectly creamy, softly set center.
Why chill the custard thoroughly before torching?
A fully chilled custard lets the sugar caramelize cleanly without melting the custard underneath.