Crème brûlée is one of those desserts that sparks joy when I see it on a menu. It seems so fancy, so special. But the truth is that it’s incredibly easy to pull together. Yes, that pronouncement comes from someone who also finds a double-decker cheesecake easy to make and who has been known to call crossants “easy” (although I’m changing my tune on that one after two weekend tries. Now I’d say they’re easy to make but not easy to perfect). Honestly, though, if you pay attention for the 15 minutes it takes to prepare them, you can produce impressive restaurant-quality sweets.

Early on in my career, when I was just starting out as an editor at Cooking Pleasures magazine, we published an article with five different versions of the dessert: classic, maple, chocolate-espresso, orange and coconut. They’re all fantastic and follow the same basic formula, but the classic one has become my go-to. Flavored simply with a vanilla bean, this recipe calls for five ingredients and comes together in minutes. The hardest thing you have to do is separate eight eggs. (Only the yolks are used. If you want a tasty way to use some of the whites, try these almond cookies.)

As a bonus, this recipe provides a good excuse to add a cooking torch to your repertoire of gadgets. You can also use the broiler, but the torch adds that extra flair if you’re finishing them in front of guests.

Classic Crème Brûlée

4 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
8 egg yolks
1/2 packed light brown sugar

1. Heat your oven to 300 F. Place 8 ramekins in a baking dish. (They should have a capacity of 1/2 to 3/4 cup.)

2. Combine the cream and white sugar in a large saucepan; stir in vanilla bean and seeds. (If using extract, add in Step 3.) Heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to simmer (you’ll see small bubbles forming around the edges of the pan). Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for 10 minutes to allow the flavor of the vanilla bean to infuse the cream mixture.

3. Whisk egg whites in a large bowl until blended. Slowly whisk in cream mixture until combined. (Then whisk in extract, if using.) Strain the mixture to make sure no small cooked egg particles are in the final blend.

4. Put a teapot of water to boil. Pour the cream mixture into the ramekins. Add enough boiling water to the baking pan holding the ramekins to come halfway up their sides. Cover the pan tightly with foil.

5. Bake 50 to 60 minutes. You want the custards to be set but still a little jiggly in the middle. Remove the ramekins from the pan. Cool the custards on a wire rack for about 45 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

6. When you’re ready to serve them, sprinkle a thin layer of brown sugar over each custard. Use a cooking torch to caramelize the sugar. Or, place the custards on a baking sheet and pop them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, until the sugar is melted. WATCH CAREFULLY SO THE SUGAR DOESN’T BURN! You don’t want to do this more than a few hours before serving as the topping will lose its wonderful crackle.

7. I like serving with a sprinkling of berries, but the custards are perfectly lovely as is, as well. Make sure to store any leftovers in the fridge.

8 custards