Sugar Free Coffee Creme Brulee… Where have you been all of my life?
I’m not going to lie to you. This is one of the best dessert I’ve had since posting the Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake in December. Not only is it silky and creamy but it tastes just like a delicious cup of coffee. My children loved this sugar free coffee creme brulee and my tea drinking husband thought is was fabulous.
Some of you have ordered creme brulee at restaurants and others have yet to experience the divine. Creme brulee is a luxurious custard with a crackly caramelized sugar top. The ingredients are uber simple: egg yolks, heavy cream, and sugar. There are many types of creme brulee and every once in awhile you’ll see a recipe for a savory version although trasitionally it’s served as a sweet dessert.
Thanks to modern natural low carb sugar alternatives, this incredible dessert can even be made low carb. Yes, this coffee creme brulee is absolutely a low carb, ketogenic and sugar free recipe. But even so, it’s full of calories so make sure to save it for special occasions.
The only tricky thing with this recipe for sugar free creme brulee, and all low carb creme brulee in general, is getting that crackly top. I tried several low carb sweeteners to get that expected “crack” and the sweetener that worked the best was Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener with Swerve Granulated a better than average second.
You all know how I love my Sukrin products but unfortunately, I didn’t like how the Sukrin, and plain erythritol for that matter, performed when I torched the top. I have two culinary torches but this safest torch from Ingeniosity is my favorite. Take heart, a crackly crust on creme brulee is not required, simply add a nice dollop of whipped cream to the top instead.
[RECIPE TIPS:] If you have standard porcelain ramekins or glass custard cups your custards will be cooked in 20-30 minutes. It depends on how hot the water bath is initially. Remove the pan from the oven when just the barest center of the dessert looks unset and still jiggly – about the size of a nickel. It will continue to cook in the water bath for a while. My coffee cups needed 30-40 minutes to properly cook because the porcelain was thicker.
Instant espresso resulted in a delicious rich coffee flavor that I do not believe instant coffee could achieve. The brandy gives a nice sophisticated spicy-vanilla flavor to the coffee, but rum would be nice, too. I like V.S.O.P brandy (the bottle with the blue label and top) and spiced rum. As an aside, I use brandy all of the time in my cooking and a bottle will easily last me 2 years.
I don’t like to toot my own horn, but this easy dessert is FABULOUS! I wish I could sub this for my daily cup of Joe because that would be awesome.
This Sugar Free Coffee Creme Brulee is 4 net carbs per serving
[This post and recipe contain affiliate links.]
Sugar Free Coffee Creme Brulee (low carb, keto)
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup Sukrin 1, Swerve granulated or Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener* divided
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp instant espresso
- 1 tbsp V.S.O.P Brandy (or rum)
- 1/4 tsp stevia glycerite
Optional Toppings
- additional sweetener for melting on top*
- whipped cream
- cinnamon
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack to the middle position. Heat water in a tea kettle until hot, not boiling. Find a pan large enough to fit the 4 ramekins and deep enough to add water half way up the sides of the ramekins.
- Method: Add the yolks and 1 tbsp of the granulated sweetener to a medium bowl. Beat well to completely break up the yolks.
- Pour the heavy cream into a small pot and add the remaining granulated sweetener, espresso, and stevia glycerite. Place the pot over medium heat and heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk, until bubbles begin to simmer around the edge of the pot. Turn off the heat and begin pouring the egg yolk into the hot cream mixture - very slowly in a thin stream, while quickly whisking all the while. Whisk in the brandy.
- Bake: Divide the coffee creme brulee mixture evenly between 4 ramekins. Place the ramekins into the pan and fill the pan with hot water half way up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the very center of the creme brulee is barely jiggly - about the size of a nickle or a dime.*See recipe notes in post.
- Cool the sugar free coffee creme brulee in the water bath for an hour before removing to a rack to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours but overnight is better.
- Before serving, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener or Swerve Granulated over the top of each creme brulee. Melt the sweetener with a culinary torch until it caramelizes, turning brown. Alternately, add a dollop of whipped cream to the top and some cinnamon. Serve.
Hey, Thank you for coffee recipe, I really really like the way you explained it, Me and my family this coffee so i’m going to try this one in upcoming weekend where we set together once in a week so this will be amazing
Hi, how do you calculate the net carbs? Every tbs of heavy cream gas 1 carb and you’re using 2 cups if it?
Hi Fariba. Please excuse the last comment as I was in error. I use Fatsecret.com to calculate nutritional information. I entered 2 cups heavy cream, 6 large egg yolks, 1 fluid oz brandy and 1 tbsp instant coffee powder. I don’t count erythritol since the body doesn’t break it down and it has zero calories. I hope this helps. -Kim
Is stevia glycerate the same as liqud stevia drops? I can’t find the glycerate in my country.
Thanks!
No, Teresa, they are a little different, but use the stevia drops if you don’t find them bitter. -Kim
So glad I found your site. My husband and doing low carb hopefully for awhile. Love your recipes! Also learning sign language, bucket list!
Hi Melissa. Glad you found me. Sign language is fun. I miss it. Thanks for saying hello! -Kim
Oh, this looks so decadent! It would be a perfect Valentine’s Day dessert!
This looks like my kind of yummy! I love creme brulee and coffee, so this is a win! I also have a culinary blow torch from a SP I did awhile back that I have been itching to use on something, lol. Love your food styling in these pretty photos :)
Wow, thanks Stacey for the nice compliment! -Kim
This sounds to heavenly to be true!! This will be my Valentine treat for sure!! Thanks so much for this!!!
Great, Billie. Enjoy the recipe. -Kim
What an indulgent dessert! I can see myself licking off my spoon – probably with closed eyes…. you get the picture. I’d love to try Lakanto – unfortunately it’s not yet available in Europe.
Hi Katrin. This was so good. I like the Lakanto very much, unfortunately, it’s one of the pricier low carb sugar alternatives on the market. It torched up really well, though! -Kim
This was sooooo delicious! I made it for my coworkers this morning and we all LOVED it! This is now my go to dessert since it’s so simple and quick to fix. I made it in my Instant Pot pressure cooker and it was done in no time: After mixing all the ingredients, I placed the metal trivet in the pressure cooker insert then added 2 cups water. I covered each ramekin with foil then placed them on the trivet. Closed it up and pressure cooked using manual setting (high pressure) for 9 minutes. I let the pressure release naturally before removing the ramekins. They all jiggled just a bit so I knew they were done. I removed the foil, let them sit uncovered for about 30 minutes before covering with cling wrap and refrigerating.
One point to note, I tried broiling the Lakanto monk fruit sweetener and while it browned it also smoked to the point that I had to open the windows and such to avoid having the smoke alarm go off. Next time I will try torching instead.
Thanks again for sharing your delicious recipes. I have liked each and every single one that I have tried! My coworkers are my guinea pigs and so far there have been no complaints. :)
Thanks for coming all of the way from Facebook to comment here, Ciru. I really appreciate your thoughtful and informative comment. I’m going to put the info into the post so that it can be duplicated. I am so happy that you and your co-workers enjoyed this recipe. Enjoy a nice weekend. -Kim
I’m not a coffee fan but my husband would love me forever if I made this for him! :-)
Oh, Georgina, he totally would! My kids loved it, too. It was sublime. -Kim
Sounds delicious with or without the crackly sugar top! Love the coffee creme flavor!
Oh Girl! That coffee flavor was out of this world. Thanks for the comment. -Kim
Looks like amazing recipes!!??
Thanks Ian. I hope you enjoy it. -Kim