Kentucky bourbon cream brulee is my riff on the time-honored classic using a special ingredient from Frankfort. I didn’t misspell “creme”. It’s intentional because the secret ingredient is, you guessed it, bourbon cream. Harlan Wheatley, the master distiller at Buffalo Trace distillery created it in response to the ever popular Irish creams.
My Love Affair With Creme Brulee
I can’t remember my first taste. Ours was a pie, cake and ice cream family, so it was likely my first fancy dessert. That means it was at a nice restaurant, but which one and where?
It’s unusual I don’t recall because like music, food always triggers detailed memories. Making it does remind me how much I enjoy it. There’s something about the creamy custard topped with crunchy sugar and a few berries that make it special.
Making Kentucky Bourbon Cream Brulee
The process is identical to that of other creme brulee with a different, but delicious flavoring element. If you have never made this at home, it’s easy. The total process takes time, but it’s mostly waiting for it to bake and cool. Active kitchen time including baking is no more than 60 minutes.
Make this for guests and reap the compliments! Print
Kentucky Bourbon Cream Brulee
The creamy classic brulee flavored with genuine Kentucky Bourbon!
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 2–3/4 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Kentucky Bourbon Cream
- 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar – more for the brulee topping
- Fresh blueberries and raspberries – garnish
- Fresh Mint – garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
- Heat a pot with boiling water
- Place (6) 6 oz ramekins in a deep baking dish
- Pour the cream, bourbon cream, vanilla extract and salt in a heavy bottom saucepot
- Whisk briefly and cook over medium heat until almost a simmer – about 5-10 minutes. Stop when you see bubbles around the edges of the pot and the mixture is hot
- Remove from heat and let it rest 10 minutes to cool enough so it will not curdle the eggs
- While the cream mix is cooling, beat the egg yolksand sugar together in a bowl until they are fully combined and pale yellow
- Slowly drizzle the warm cream into the yolk and sugar mix and stir (do not whisk – it will create too much foam) constantly until it is all in and combined. Do not overmix and create foam
- Strain the custard mix through a fine strainer to catch any foam or solid egg bits
- Divide and fill the ramekins equally
- Add boiling water to the baking dish until halfway up the sides of the ramekins
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the centers are barely set
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes
- Carefully remove each ramekin from the water bath and cool on a rack for 45 minutes to 1 hour
- Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days
- When ready to serve top each custard with 2 teaspoons of sugar in an even thin layer
- Use a kitchen torch and torch the sugar until it caramelizes and browns to your liking
- Serve as quickly as possible, topped with fresh berries and mint
Notes
If you wait too long after torching the sugar, more than an hour, it will begin to soften losing that critical crunch.