Healthy Cookie: Classic Creme Brulee (104 calories!)

Creme brulee is a sultry, sophisticated dessert. It frequents fancy restaurant menus and romantic dinners for two. It’s creamy and luscious in the middle with a crisp, golden brown sugar topping that offers a satisfying crackle to each bite. Its flavor is not complex, just classic, indulgent vanilla. With that caramelized sugar top, creme brulee is an impressive and divine dessert.

The funny thing about creme brulee is that it’s actually insanely simple to make. You whip up the custard (super easy), bake it until it sets (cake), then top it with the sugar and caramelize it (simple). The best part is, you can make the custards ahead of time then refrigerate until you’re ready to serve! You can choose to wait until serving to top them with the sugar or do it before refrigeration; it doesn’t matter.

Oh wait…I forgot. There’s a major downside to creme brulee: it’s not calorie-friendly.

Or at least, it wasn’t. Thanks to that genius Hungry Girl, we can now enjoy all the creamy, heavenly indulgence of a creme brulee without the guilt. These creme brulees are only 104 calories each! Yes, 104 calories! Try and tell me that’s not insanely awesome. And they’re SO GOOD. They have a perfect creamy texture plus a beautiful crackling sugar topping. If no one told you it was low-cal, you’d never know. It’s as good as any other creme brulee out there. You need this in your life.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

1. I recommend making them ahead of time so you don’t have to fuss as much when you’re ready for dessert later!
2. Serve with sliced strawberries or raspberries for a pop of color and a touch of tartness!
3. You could make these with cinnamon and nutmeg for a warm, fall-inspired version.
4. Get out all of your ingredients, pots, and pans before you start cooking. It’ll make your life a lot easier.
5. If you don’t have a kitchen torch (neither do I), you can use the broiler. Be warned: it’s tricky business. Sure, mine caramelized just fine, but the pots got so hot they burned my oven mitts. Moral of the story: be careful. Heck, it may work just fine in your oven. Mine is way past its prime…
6. If you don’t wanna mess with the kitchen torch OR broiling, make it plain! That’s what I did the first time I made this and it is absolutely delicious all on its own. It’s like a really good vanilla custard. Plus, you could replace the sugar with a little bit of Cool Whip or whipped cream.

Crème Brulee

Recipe from Hungry Girl

Ingredients:
1/3 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Original Egg Beaters)
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 cup fat-free half & half
3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. brown sugar (not packed)
1 1/2 tsp. Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp. granulated white sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium pot, combine milk, half & half, and brown sugar. Bring to medium heat on the stove. Stir and cook until the sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot. Stir in the powdered creamer, blending well. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix the egg substitute and vanilla extract together. Gradually whisk in the hot milk mixture. Set four 4-ounce baking ramekins or custard cups in a deep baking dish. Evenly distribute the custard mixture into the cups.
3. Carefully pour hot water into the baking dish, around the cups, being careful not to splash any water into the custard (or on yourself!). The water should come about halfway up the outsides of the custard cups. Carefully transfer pan to the oven, and bake for about 28 minutes, until custards are set.
4. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and then refrigerate custard cups until completely chilled. Once ready to serve, top each custard cup with 1 tsp. white sugar. Using a hand-held butane kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar (in other words, blast with fire ’til browned). Enjoy!

Serving Size: 1 custard cup
Calories: 104
Fat: 0.5g
Sodium: 126mg
Carbs: 18.5g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 17g
Protein: 4.5g

Guilt-free never tasted so gourmet!