Champagne Blood Orange Crème Brûlée screams Valentine’s Day. From the vibrant red citrus, to the bubbly in the rich and creamy custard, this is a dessert to remember!
This isn’t chocolate. And it’s a Valentine’s Day dessert. Who am I!?
I’m the one who’s only okay with a non-chocolate dessert (for Valentine’s Day, or otherwise), when it’s super creamy, rich and delicately flavored with seasonal fruit.
Inspiration
When I was asked to bring a dessert or a bottle of bubbly to my monthly LA food blogger meeting, I decided I wanted to bring the bubbly in a dessert.
And the inspiration for this recipe came from my recent desire to marinate blood orange segments in champagne. I just knew it would be beautiful and delicious.
I love the way this Champagne Blood Orange Crème Brûlée recipe evolved. 
It developed into creme brûlée because, well, I had to add the creamy and rich elements.
What’s in Champagne Blood Orange Crème Brûlée?
- champagne and blood oranges, of course 😉
- heavy cream
- vanilla beans
- egg yolks
- sugar
How to Make it
-Marinate blood orange segments in champagne and a little sugar.
-Add cream, blood orange zest and vanilla beans and pod to a medium-sized pot and place it on the stove.
I always try to pause to appreciate the beauty of the ingredients.
And whether you make the Champagne-Blood Orange Crème Brûlée for Valentine’s Day or not, I hope you love it as much as I do!
More recipes for Valentine’s Day:
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Hazelnut Waffles
- Passion Fruit Chocolate Ganache Bars
- Gluten-Free Nutella Brownies
- Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Spicy Mayan Chocolate Truffles
- Flourless Chocolate Kahlúa Cake
Blood Orange-Champagne Crème Brûlée
From the vibrant red citrus, to the bubbly in the rich and creamy custard, this is a dessert to remember!
*Please note that 4 hours of the prep time is inactive, when the dessert is being refrigerated.
- 2 tablespoons champagne
- 1/2 cup blood orange segments
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon blood orange zest ((from about 4 small oranges))
- 1 vanilla bean
- 8 large egg yolks
- 6 thin, horizontal slices peeled blood orange
- 5 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, (divided)
- about 6 tablespoons super fine granulated sugar
- Place 6 (6-ounce) ramekins on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Place the the blood orange segments in a bowl and add the champagne and 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar. Set aside. (Here’s how to segment the orange.)
- Add the cream and blood orange zest to a medium-sized pot and place it on the stove.
- Use a paring knife to make a slit in the vanilla bean, lengthwise, and then use the back of the knife to spread each half open, and scrape all of the beans into the cream. Add the emptied pod to the cream as well.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 5 tablespoons of sugar. Whisk until it’s thick and a lighter yellow, about 5 minutes.
- Now turn the heat to medium-high under the pot of cream and scald it — it should not quite be boiling, and should just have tiny bubbles along the edges.
- Turn the heat off and use a large ladle to add a cup or so of the hot cream to the egg mixture, and whisk it immediately. Repeat this one more time, and then add this to the remaining cream in the pot. Turn the heat to medium-low and whisking constantly, cook until the mixture is thick, about 6 minutes or so. It should coat the back of a spoon and stay there. (Should it look like the mixture is separating – becoming grainy — quickly and carefully, pour it in a blender and blend. This should bring it back together.) Set aside.
- Use a slotted spoon to add about one sixth of the champagne-marinated blood orange segments to each ramekin.
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Now add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the excess blood orange-champagne juice that’s left in the bowl, to the custard and mix.
- Pour equal amounts of the custard over the blood orange segments in each ramekin. Then very gently press one of the thin blood orange slices on top of each one. Then place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, and ideally overnight.
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When you're ready to serve, sprinkle each one evenly with 1 tablespoon of the super fine sugar. (A sugar shaker is perfect for this.) Then use a small kitchen blow torch to brown the sugar to create a crust. If you don't have the kitchen torch, you can also place them under the broiler, fairly close to the flame, just until they brown, 1 minute or less.
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