No-Bake Crème Brûlée

A close up of creme brûlée in white serving dishes with raspberries on top and a bowl of raspberries beside them.

No-Bake Crème Brûlée

Take your dessert to another level with this indulgent no-bake vegan Crème Brûlée recipe. Any recipe that requires a blow torch is fine with me and that crispy sugar topping makes it all worthwhile!

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Diet Vegan

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 15

Servings

Calories 375kcal

Author Marly McMillen

Equipment

Ingredients

13.5 oz can coconut milk (see note)
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup raw cashews (not soaked cashews)
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tiny pinch turmeric (for color)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar (for topping)

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Scoop one cup of the fat from a can of chilled coconut milk, arrowroot powder, sugar, and cashews in a saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer (low boil) over medium heat while stirring (this can take up to 5 minutes). Simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Don't worry about lumps in the sauce if they occur.
Add the cream mixture to a high-speed blender. Add the nutritional yeast flakes, vanilla, and pinch of turmeric (for color). Blend until creamy.
Pour the cream into 4 brûlée dishes or ramekins (or 8 smaller containers). Place in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours to overnight (the longer it sits the thicker the cream will become).
Before serving, sprinkle the top of each with approximately 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and make sure the entire surface of cream has sugar over it. Use a kitchen torch to carmelize the sugar and create a crispy top coating. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to an hour before serving.

Video

Notes

If you don't have arrowroot powder, you can substitute cornstarch.

For Chocolate Creme Brûlée

Add up to 1/4 cup cocoa powder to the milk mixture (and leave out the ground turmeric).

Regarding Coconut Milk

Use full-fat coconut milk. The label should read between 13 and 15g of fat. The amount of fat in each can varies which will have an impact on how creamy the custard is.

Keep your coconut milk in the fridge so the fat hardens. Then you can scoop the fat from the can. If your can has 1 cup of fat that's good. If your can has less than 1 cup, use 1.5 tablespoons arrowroot powder.

Make-Ahead Tips

To make ahead, prepare the custard and pour it into serving dishes. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days before serving.

Burning Sugar Options

Don't have a kitchen torch? You can use your oven broiler to burn the sugar. Simply, move the oven rack to the highest rack in the oven. Heat up the broiler so it's very hot. It helps if the custard itself is well chilled. Just be sure to set it out at room temperature for a few minutes so the ramekin doesn't crack. You won't achieve the same golden color as with a torch, but this works. I've also read that a grill lighter (the ones with a long wand) can burn the sugar topping as well. However, it seems like that would take a while so it may not be practical. Once the sugar coating is done, let it sit for a few minutes before eating it, so you don't burn your mouth.

Nutrition