Get ready for one of the easiest dessert you’ll ever make! Juicy berries, smooth whipped cream, and a crunchy caramelized sugar topping. This is a great Valentine’s Day treat, a no-bake summer dessert, or a way to use up some less than stellar berries that might be sitting in your fridge.
I was browsing the recipes in Genius Desserts and I stumbled upon this super simple dessert. It’s not even really a recipe, it’s more of a dessert concept: fruit + cream + caramelized sugar. Use your favorite berries and adapt the recipe size to suit your needs. It is so good.
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Ingredients needed
Start by gathering your three ingredients:
- Fresh berries
- Heavy whipping cream
- Granulated sugar
Recipe overview
Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form.
Combine whipped cream and berries in a heat safe baking dish.
Sprinkle the top of the berries and cream with granulated sugar and use a kitchen torch caramelize the sugar.
Place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, to allow the caramelized sugar to harden.
Dig in!
Recipe tips
- Fresh berries are best for this. They will hold up better to the heat of the torch and they won’t be as wet as frozen berries.
- Make sure your berries are clean and dry before proceeding with the recipe.
- Heavy whipping cream should be cold, straight from the fridge, to ensure that it will whip properly.
- When caramelizing the sugar, I like to work with sections at a time. Sprinkle some sugar, torch it, move to the next area and repeat (as opposed to covering the whole dish with sugar at once).
- Use the kitchen torch with a back and forth motion over the top of the sugar.
- Don’t keep the torch in one area for too long or you could risk burning the sugar which will result in bitter taste.
What type of berries to use
You need to use fresh, not frozen, berries for this recipe. Strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries are our favorites. You can even use a combination of berries. Larger berries can be halved, smaller berries can be left whole.
Serving and storage
This dish should be served shortly after preparing it. Allow 5-10 minutes for the caramelized sugar to harden and then serve. You can serve it as is or you can serve it alongside angel food cake or pound cake.
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and are best consumed within one day.
Recipe
Berry Brûlée
Ingredients
- ½ cup chilled heavy cream
- 12 oz fresh raspberries, clean and dry, see note
- 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided
Instructions
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip heavy cream and 1 teaspoon sugar until soft peaks form.
- Combine berries and whipped cream in a heat safe dish (I used a pie plate).
- Working with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, sprinkle a layer of sugar over the berries and then caramelize with a kitchen torch, using a back and forth motion. Work with one section of the dish at a time: sprinkle sugar, caramelize that sugar, then repeat both steps in another area, until the whole thing is done. Place the dish in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to allow the sugar to harden. Serve immediately on its own or alongside pound cake or angel food cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Gina says
I’ve never seen a freezer brûlée before this recipe but it’s so easy and just as delicious!
Jenni says
This was so easy and tasted sooo good! My kids helped me make it and we all wished we had more a double batch!
Holly says
I used the broiler and it worked fine, great recipe! Thank you!!!
Allison says
Great! You’re welcome!