These individual Creme Brûlée Trifles are a surprisingly easy dessert, layered with shortbread cookie crumbs, raspberry jam, and a homemade custard. Such a simple but impressive dessert for the holidays!
Preheat your oven to 300°F and position the oven rack in the middle. Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil while you work on the custard.
Cut the vanilla bean pod in half and scrape out the seeds using the back of a knife.
Take a big bowl, add the egg yolks, and whisk them until they become smooth (about 1 minute). Set the bowl aside.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, pour in the heavy cream and whisk in the sugar. Also, add the scraped vanilla beans and the vanilla bean pod.
Heat the mixture until it's almost simmering, constantly whisking to prevent burning. It's ready when it reaches 205°F. Remove it from the heat.
Gradually, and very slowly, pour some of the hot cream mixture into the beaten egg yolks while continuously whisking. You need to do it very slowly so you don’t scramble the eggs and you need to be constantly whisking - don't stop. Keep doing this slowly and continuously until all of the cream is mixed in.
Use a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl to strain the cream mixture to catch the vanilla pod and any solids.
Pour the cream into a 9x9-inch baking dish, and then place the baking dish inside a larger pan, like a roasting pan (that has higher sides.)
Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the side of the baking dish. Make sure no water gets into the cream mixture.
Bake for 40 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes. The cream should still be slightly jiggly in the center.
Let it cool at room temperature on a wire rack for 2 hours. Afterward, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight is even better.
When you're ready to serve the trifles, take the cream out of the fridge and stir or whisk it until it's smooth. Don't forget to mix in those vanilla bean specks that can sink to the bottom of the baking dish!
In serving glasses, layer crushed cookies, followed by cream, about 2 Tablespoons of raspberry jam, more cookies, and a final layer of cream.
Sprinkle a generous amount of granulated sugar evenly over the top of each trifle, making sure to cover the cream completely.
Use a small kitchen torch to carefully brown the tops until they're nicely caramelized (it is important you are using heat safe glasses so they do not crack when using the torch).
Let the trifles sit for a couple of minutes to allow the sugar to set. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Serving sizes will change based on the size of your glasses. I used 8 ounce glasses so each serving is one cup.
Use strong, sturdy glasses or ramekins since you're using a kitchen torch to brulee the topping. You don't want it to shatter.
If you don't have any way to torch the sugar on top, just skip it. This is an absolutely delicious layered custard all on its own even without the crunchy sugar topping!