This Instant Pot Chai Masala creme brulee brings an Indian take on the classic French dessert with its creamy spiced infused custard topped by an irresistible caramelized sugar crust.
As mentioned in my 10 year blog anniversary post, one of the things I’m incredibly grateful for is the friendship I’ve made during this blogging journey. One friend that I’m so happy to have met is Amisha Gurbani of the Jam Lab. We became Insta friends a few years ago and finally met in real life when her family vacationed in San Diego. I still remember the first time we met at a cafe in Little Italy when Dillion was less than a year old. She was so friendly, kind, down to earth, and trusting that I literally handed Dillon to her when I needed to run to the restroom. We became friends and have supported each other since.
In November, Amisha published her long awaited cookbook Mumbai Modern which is filled with delicious, vibrant, and flavorful recipes. Amisha is an engineer by profession and has brought the incredible flavors she grew up with as well as the influence from her California home into those recipes. I'm always inspired by her flavor pairing and beautiful creations especially desserts and couldn't be more excited to share the first recipe from her cookbook, Chai Masala creme brulee. Since I started making creme brulee in the Instant Pot a couple years ago, I haven't looked back and adapted Amisha's recipe for the Instant Pot. Get ready for her Indian take on the classic French dessert with its creamy spiced infused custard topped by an irresistible caramelized sugar crust.
Ingredient Notes:
- Chai Masala: is made from a mixture of cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon, and ginger. I used the one from Spice Walla but you can make your own or find it at your local Indian grocery store.
- Heavy cream: for the tastiest result, use all heavy cream. If you want it a little bit less rich, switch out 1 cup of heavy cream for 2% milk.
Tips for Making Creme Brulee in the Instant Pot
I love making creme brulee in the Instant Pot because it cuts the time in half from prep to finish compared to the traditional oven method with the water bath. If you’re making creme brulee in the Instant Pot for the first time, read through these tips will help you achieve the best tasting creme brulee.
- Only steep the Chai Masala for 7-8 minutes otherwise the flavor might be overpowering.
- Cooking the Chai Masala creme brulee on LOW pressure results in the lightest, creamiest custard.
- Cook the creme brulee in batches for consistent result.
- Add in ½ cup of water in between batches because the Instant Pot needs water to generate the steam necessary to cook the custard.
- Cover the ramekins tightly with foil to prevent condensation from dripping on the custard.
- The center should be jiggly and and edges set. The custard will firm up considerably in the refrigerator. If it’s still liquid in the center, cook for an additional 2 minutes on low pressure.
- Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes before you release the rest of the pressure.
- It’s important to refrigerate the creme brulee for at least 4 hours for the texture to set properly.
How Long to Cook Creme Brulee
In general, these are the cooking times and correspond volumes that worked for me: ¼ cup takes 3 minutes, ½ cup takes 5 minutes, ¾ cup takes 6-7 minutes. If you’re making the creme brulee in one large dish, cook on LOW pressure for 18 minutes. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can still make the Chai Masala creme brulee. Just follow the instructions from my matcha creme brulee recipe using the conventional oven and water bath method.
How to Brulee the Sugar Crust
When ready to serve, remove the Earl Grey creme brulee from the fridge and get ready to make that caramel, crackly top. Sprinkle the entire surface with granulated sugar and use a propane torch to caramelize (or burnt) the sugar. My favorite torch is the Bernzomatic torch. If you don’t have a torch, you can use your oven on its broiler setting to get the layer of sugar melted and caramelized.
Grab your spoon and get ready to crack through that caramelized top for the wonderful creme brulee experience. The warming notes of Chai Masala shine through the creamy, melt in your mouth custard while the crackly caramel crust and fresh figs make this Instant Pot Chai Masala creme brulee the perfect fall dessert. Serve them with blackberries if you can't find figs.
For more Instant Pot dessert inspiration, check these recipes: IP mango sticky rice, IP rhubarb ginger creme brulee, IP Earl Grey creme brulee, IP blood orange flan, IP blood orange flan.
Instant Pot Chai Masala Creme Brulee
Equipment
- 8-quart Instant Pot
- 6 6-oz ramekins
- Propane torch
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Chai Masala
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For serving
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 large figs, quartered
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the heavy cream and salt. Cook until the edges start to bubble.
- Remove from heat, add Chai Masala, and let everything steep for 8 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well combined.
- Temper the egg yolk mixture by pouring a small amount of the warmed cream mixture into the yolks and whisking to combine until done. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large liquid measuring cup with a pour spout. Discard the solids. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Divide the custard evenly into six 6-oz ramekins. Release any air bubbles on the surface by gently tapping with a spoon. Cover each ramekin tightly with aluminum foil.
- Lock on the lid and make sure the pressure valve is set to seal. Use the manual function to set to cook for 5 minutes on LOW pressure.
- When the cook time is up, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. Manually release any remaining pressure and carefully remove the lid.
- Carefully transfer the ramekins from the Instant Pot to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 20 minutes.
- Add ½ cup of water in the Instant Pot before you cook the second batch.
- Place the remaining ramekins in the Instant Pot and repeat the steps above.
- Chill the ramekins uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle ½ tablespoon of sugar evenly on top of each creme brulee. Using a kitchen torch, brulee the tops until the sugar begins to bubble and turn dark golden brown. Let the creme brulee sit for about 5 minutes.
- Top the cooled creme brulees with fresh figs and serve immediately.
Notes
- Cooking the creme brulee on LOW pressure results in the lightest, creamiest custard.
- Cook the creme brulee in batches for consistent result.
- Add in ½ cup of water in between batches because the Instant Pot needs water to generate the steam necessary to cook the custard.
- Cover the ramekins tightly with foil to prevent condensation from dripping on the custard.
- The center should be jiggly and and edges set. The custard will firm up considerably in the refrigerator. If it’s still liquid in the center, cook for an additional 2 minutes on low pressure.
- Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes before you release the rest of the pressure.
- It’s important to refrigerate the creme brulee for at least 4 hours for the texture to set properly.
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