Plant-Based Crème Brûlée

Because when you rework a great classic of French pastry, the aim is not simply to swap out a few ingredients. For me, the real challenge is recovering what gives the dessert its identity: a delicately vanilla-scented custard, a soft, melting, silky texture, and that thin crackling crust of caramel that breaks under the spoon. The contrast between the crunch of the caramel and the creaminess beneath is simply irresistible.

And believe me, reproducing those sensations without eggs or dairy is no small thing.

So I worked through different combinations of ingredients and textures to offer you today two versions of my plant-based vanilla crème brûlée: one based on coconut cream, the other on rice cream.

Both have their qualities, but I admit a preference for the coconut one. I find its texture particularly successful, with a melting creaminess that, to my taste, comes closest to a true traditional crème brûlée. Coconut also pairs very harmoniously with vanilla, without pulling the dessert away from what it is.

What I particularly like about this recipe is that we recover the main flavor markers and sensations of a classic crème brûlée while doing away with much of the technical difficulty its traditional preparation demands, not least the delicate business of cooking egg custards.

It is a genuine little feat of pastry, and one I am particularly proud of.

After so much searching, what a satisfaction to have finally found a plant-based, gluten-free alternative that honors the soul of this great French dessert.

I sincerely hope you take as much pleasure in eating it as I took in working it out.