Toasted Milk and Cardamom Crème Brûlée

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Okay, I’ll be honest, this is NOT a traditional crème brûlée, there is no heavy cream in this recipe at all! I just used milk powder and milk! It’s a more of a cross between a custard and crème brûlée really. But no matter what you call it, it’s DELICIOUS! Toasted milk and cardamom is such a comforting combination that it makes you keep coming back for more!

The first time I ever baked with milk powder was when I cooked through Christina Tosi’s Momofuku Milk Bar. I mean, milk powder is commonly used in Indian sweets all the time! Gulab jamun, peda, and various other desi dessert have milk powder in them. However, I never cooked non-Indian dishes with milk powder before!

One of her tricks is to toast the milk powder with cookie mix-in ingredients, like cereal, to give it that nutty, home-y flavor. I decided to take it one step further and make an easy milk and cardamom (I know, I know, but I LOVE it!) crème brûlée – like dessert.

I’ve tried every brûlée method out there – super hot spoon, broiler, oven, and torch. To be honest, the best method that’s worked for me without having burnt spots has been the torch. On Black Friday last year I finally caved and treated myself to a brûlée torch! I couldn’t wait to use my new kitchen baby!

This recipe makes enough for exactly two crème brûlées – perfect for Valentine’s Day. You can even make it the night before! Just brûlée it right before serving!

The custard was amazing! It really reminded me of a mix of brown butter and chai. It had a really nice nutty-ness to it. I topped mine with berries and it really made a big difference! The berries cut the sweetness of the crunchy sugar and make it 100 times better! Give it a try!

Toasted Milk and Cardamom Crème Brûlée

Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 2 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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1/3 cup milk powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
pinch salt
1 1/4 cup milk

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Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 300 F.
Spread milk powder in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The milk powder will turn golden brown and smell nutty, almost like brown butter. Pour the milk powder into a blender and pulse 3-4 times until the powder is nice and fine.
Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until just combined. Add vanilla, sugar, cardamom. salt and milk powder and whisk well. There might be a few lumps of milk powder, don’t stress about it! Add in the milk and whisk until the batter is mostly smooth.
Place your ramekins in a lipped baking dish. Pour the mixture into your ramekins and carefully place the baking dish onto the middle rack of the oven. Make a water bath by pouring water into the baking dish so the water comes half way up the sides of the ramekin. Bake for 35 minutes – the middle will be slightly jiggly. Remove from the oven and cool. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so that the cream sets.
When ready to serve, evenly spread 1 tablespoon of sugar on top of each custard. Use a brûlée torch to melt the sugar to form a crispy top. Top with berries and enjoy!