Lemon creme brulee for a great Mother’s Day dessert for two.
Ahhh, the month of May. We get Mother’s Day, tulips, daffodils and Springtime all rolled into one month. It’s a good time to be a Mama. And to celebrate your own Mama!
You know your Mama best, but no matter what, I really think she’d love this lemon creme brûlée. It’s Springtime in a cute little ramekin, plus it’s so fancy. Your Mom deserves it!
If it were me, I would make a little picnic for you and Mama, and pack the chilled lemon creme brulee for dessert. Toss the culinary torch in the picnic basket, and torch them on-site. (The sugar crust softens as it stands–torch creme brûlée just before serving, always).
This is the torch I use. I love it because it’s tiny.
Mother’s Day and Lemon Creme Brulee:
Last year was my first Mother’s Day as a Mama, and it was everything I’d ever hoped for. I had a 2-week old infant who was nursing ’round the clock, but I snuck away to grocery shop alone. It was so glorious, even though I was only gone for 37 minutes.
The people at the market noticed I’d been missing for 2 weeks and welcomed me back, with my tired eyes and baggy Mom clothes. If I remember correctly, the check-out guy at Trader Joe’s even gave me free flowers.
Now that my sweet little babe is ONE, I’m looking forward to a more relaxed Mother’s Day this year. I want baby snuggles, lots of play time with my main girl, and I want to tickle her ribs until she has a laughing fit. It’s the best.
I love my girl.
But I also love lemon desserts. Especially mini lemon layer cakes.
Plus, lemon cheesecake bars, and anything made with my microwave lemon curd. I wouldn’t mind waking up to a small batch of lemon scones, too!
But mostly this lemon creme brulee. Mostly. Fine, I’ll take all of the lemon desserts today!
Happy Mother’s Day, Mamas! <3
Lemon Creme Brûlée
Ingredients
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons
- zest from 1 small lemon
Instructions
- In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cream, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon zest.
- Pour into the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a 8 or 9" square glass baking dish. Make a water bath for them to cook in by pouring 2 cups of very hot water into the dish, or enough to come up about 1/2" on the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake at 300° for 40-50 minutes. The custards are done when only the middle is slightly jiggly.
- Cool the custards in the water bath, then cover them with plastic wrap before moving them to the fridge for at least 8 hours.
- When ready to caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over each custard. Melt the sugar with the torch until it is browned and hard. Serve immediately.
Notes
*Check out my WAYS TO USE LEFTOVER EGG WHITES section!
Just look at you with a 4 day old and writing a blog post. You are seriously super women and my hero. So happy for you and she is just a doll! XOXO
So so so happy for you! She looks absolutely gorgeous, and I so admire your commitment to keep up with everything in these early stages of motherhood! You go Christina. Mama of the year award coming up :)
I suppose in theory you’ll need more advice than this, but the best advice is to listen to your gut in all matters, and make no apologies for how you decide to parent. It’s way too easy to get caught up in the mommy wars when they don’t even matter. You got this. <3
CONGRATULATIONS on the little one!! And holy moly way to go on being able to continue blogging … sounds like motherhood suits you just perfectly!! This recipe is great :)
I am not a human mom. I am a dog mom. But I am an auntie to two gloriously wonderful nieces (and hopefully one nephew in a few months). And I can tell you this. People will tell you are doing it wrong. They will demand you listen to them. You will feel like crap and think you’re a terrible human being and mother and want to run off sobbing into the nearest closet. Do NOT do it. NEVER EVER think you doing it wrong. There’s no guidebook on parenting that we all have to go by. What will work for you, won’t work for someone else. All these tiny humans are different. What was wonderful for one niece caused tsunami-sized temper tantrums in the other. You do what your gut tells you to do. That is your ultimate beacon. THAT is your guidebook.
So even though I’m a dog mom, can we still be best friends?? :D
You are a superstar lady! Hope you and that sweet girl are doing well, she is going to take on the world and kick butt at it. Pass the creme brulee mama!
I could not think of a better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than with a BIG helping of creme brulee – by far y most favorite dessert of all – and a BIG congratulations to you and your May Day baby girl
So excited for you! Taking it one day at a time is probably some of the best advice for every thing in life :)
Congrats on the baby! I saw her on Instagram and she is adorable! I totally know what you mean about wanting to befriend other mothers. I’m always shooting looks at any woman I see with a child, like we’re in a secret club.
From one new(ish) mother to another… hang in there! I have a super easy baby, and I was still crying and shaking from exhaustion by week two. The constant feeding is just sooo tiring. Make sure you get the sleep you need, even if it means having someone else do a bottle feeding now and then. Things get easier around Month 3! Also, don’t take crap from anyone. It’s one thing if you ask for advice and they offer it, but you’re not obligated to listen to anyone. Do what’s right for you and your baby, because everyone is different!
Also, lemon creme brûlée? Yum.
haha… totally agree with you! That TLC show is ridiculous! There is no way that someone would not know, they are just living in denial!
I am seriously so excited for you and that she is here for this weekend! Your a momma! Crazy! Its the best thing ever and I can’t wait for you to start flooding my feed with pictures of your sweet baby girl! (as in you better do it)
Loving this creme brulee, the fresh lemon flavor is totally up my alley. Gonna try and convince the hubbie to make it for me this weekend! :)
Beautiful!!! So happy she is here and I’m totally making this recipe soon. Yum!
I second Liz! Writing a blog post four days post birth is insane! Seriously impressed here. Somehow I missed the announcement on IG, but you bet I just made my way over there, and she.is.beautiful. Congrats to you and your hubby!!
You are a rockstar girl! Writing posts with a 4 day old baby, props to you! I love the creme brulee, because A) creme brulee, duh! and B) LEMON!!
I’m not a mom. I wanted to be, but it just didn’t happen for us. I generally keep my opinions on parenting to myself around other mamas because I know I’m not part of that “club”. But the advice I have comes from what I’ve observed from some (wonderful) mamas I know–my girlfriends. So, I guess what I have to give you are observations more than advice: stay as relaxed as possible, have a sense of humor, go with your gut, stay away from the “Drama Mamas” (you’ll know who they are right away), keep interested in your personal endeavors and pursuits, take time for yourself, put your spouse and your marriage first–your daughter (and future children) will not suffer for this; rather they will thrive on seeing the love and commitment you have for each other and it will give them a sense of stability and security. Remember that you and your husband are on the same team. Have total faith and confidence in yourself. And have FUN!
I am so happy for you! Hope I can meet her (and you!) someday very soon and hug you both. Bravissima Mama!
I’m loving the lemon in this creme brulee, but you already knew that. The single best piece of advice that I have as a Mama, is never say never. I did so many things I swore I would never do, but until you are faced with the situation you can’t speak to it. Keep sharing pics of your sweet girl!
Ah this creme brulee looks so good! And, I love that you didn’t pre-write your posts, bc hearing about your pregnancy and your thoughts on being a new mama is so fun! Can’t wait to see more pics of that bebe!
Happy First Mother’s Day!!! You and Camille have the best day ever please!!! Those creme brûlée look incredible, and you know I love creme brûlée since I put it in your shower parfait ;) Congratulations! Love you! xoxo
Your baby is the sweetest thing EVER! Just beautiful! Congrats a million times over and welcome to the mama club girl :) This creme brulee is marvelous!!
Congratulations on your baby girl! Enjoy this sweet time, it goes all too fast! I love your thoughts on taking things one day at a time. I need to remind myself of that on a daily basis. :)
This creme brulee looks just perfect. I’d love this for Mother’s Day dessert!
Ahhh congratulations!! She is beautiful and perfect! And girl I am in the same boat 7 months in and refuse to think about whether I can get this baby out. But I know thanks to modern medicine and sheer biology this boy is coming out one way or another. I’m more stressed about when we get home.
Huge congrats Christina! I hope you and the little one are enjoying lots of precious time together xo
CONGRATS Christina! Motherhood is the HARDEST thing ever, not to scare you so don’t feel bad when you feel like it’s not the most rewarding thing ever, as many moms say. I’m sure you’ll be an awesome bad ass mom, and happy early Mother’s Day!
Call me. I’ll tell you how to raise the perfect child. hahahahahahahaha Just kidding. Truthfully, you just have to pray a lot. As in, a. lot. And the older they get, the more you pray. And Stephie will tell you that I’ve always been like, “How the hell would you not know that you are pregnant? Are you just completely brain dead or what?” But then and again, she kicked like crazy (Alex would tell you she still does). Also, you know that she’s looking at these pictures and getting baby fever. Please give her horror stories for a little while, ok? Even if you have to make them up (only don’t tell her I told you this. lol). Seriously, she’s beautiful, and your love only gets deeper (I know–hard to believe). Come make me dessert and I’ll cuddle your little one while you cook. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind. Hugs to all of you. xoxoxo
hahahahaha, I loved your comment, Julie!
I definitely texted her and said baby fever gets you nothin’ but sore nipples. hehe :)
Ok, I’ve only been a mom for 7 weeks, but I really like this piece of advice a stranger gave me when we were out on a walk last week: Tell yourself, “they are only this age once” every single day. It works on rough days to remember things are temporary, and helps you value the good days! (Also, this is the only kind of advice I will accept unsolicited – everyone has their own opinions and ideas of what works, but we know our individual babies the best!)
I love your outlook on pregnancy. I never could wrap my brain around the fact that a woman couldn’t tell she was pregnant at some point. It made absolutely no sense. Now we know it’s a farce. Love this creamy, vibrant creme brûlée. Enjoy new mama-hood. Pinned.
HAAH! Pregnancy rants are kinda awesome. Congrats on the new baby girl! I can’t even believe you opened your computer 4 days after giving birthday. Serious hero moments.
A million congratulations, Christina! I can’t believe your sweet baby is actually here.
Sending so much love to you and your little one!! This dessert looks lovely!
Christina your baby girl is beautiful! Savor every moment and Happy First Mother’s Day! And while you’re savoring every moment I’ll savor every bite of this Lemon Crème Brulee!
The baby fever is REAL, though. And this post isn’t doing me any favors. Prayers for the hubby would be appreciated. :) You are going to be the best mom!!!!
Hi.
Congratulations! Welcome to the Momma Club.
Wonderful post.
Congratulations Christina and proud daddy. I wish you lots of joy, love and energy for your new baby girl.
I just love this! I agree with you, labor freaks me out and it’s best just not to think about it. Good to hear you made it!
Hey girl-congrats on your new bundle of joy!! I’m so happy for you!! God has made such a beautiful gift for you and your husband! God has his perfect timing when things are to come about!! Enjoy your day!!
Congratulations on your precious baby and thank you for taking the time yo write for us.
Congratulations!!! Enjoy every second :) I’m super impressed you’re back to posting! And yeah, I’ve never been pregnant… but I do not understand how people don’t know!
Congratulations on your sweet one Christina! Lemon is my favorite citrus to use in the spring so I plan to try this recipe soon!
Really………..I have to listen to a Verizon ad over and over to look at your recipes?
Thanks for complaining. I sent your complaint to my ad manager and the ads are being removed. My current ad strategy is to block all ads that make sounds. However, ad companies are constantly changing their codes and slipping through the cracks with audible ads. As soon as they are noticed on my site, they are immediately removed.
Feel free to complain anytime.
Christina
Could you add a dash of lemon oil to give it a more lemony “kick”? And how did you get the yellow color? A drop of food color? Or does the zest sort of “melt” to give it that color?
Sure, Michelle. But not more than 1 drop. I’d hate for the oil to cause any separation. I obviously didn’t make this recipe with lemon oil, so I can’t guarantee the results, but it sounds lovely.
There is no food dye in this recipe.
Thanks,
Christina
You can ramble anytime you want! I might not be a mom, but I have tremendous respect for those who are, so I can’t even imagine what that feeling must be once you have a babe of your own. Congrats, congrats again, and happy first Mother’s Day!
Happy First Mother’s Day! What a gorgeous time to have a baby. As a mother of 2 (grown) boys (and umpteen dogs, horses, etc.), I can tell you that all the people you meet will have opinions that are wrong for you. All the books (mostly written by men…what’s with that?) are wrong for you. How did mothers raise their kids before all these things happened? They went with what worked for them, and that’s just what you need to remember. If it feels right, go for it. Your little daughter will also let you know if it’s not right for her, but that’s not a worry…yet…enjoy!
Ah.. new mummy is here! I am dying to see her pictures!
Congratulation!
I’ll give this a try tomorrow, too bad my mom isn’t here with me :(
Congratulations on being a new mom and your new daughter! Being a mom of three daughters myself, I know the feeling well! Enjoy her and Happy Mother’s Day! P.S. – Love your blog!
I had to make chuckle at this because these are all the same thoughts/feelings right after having my son 10 months ago. I gained a new respect and love for all Mamas. It also made me wonder how Moms are mean to other Moms. We are all fighting the same battle and doing the best we can. We need too support each other. Oh and I also could not understand not knowing you were pregnant. How?!
I know you have have heard this a million times but ENJOY this time and don’t feel guilty for not getting other stuff done. I remember thinking, if this all I do when he is a baby I will get nothing done and not have a life. So I pushed myself too hard and got so stressed in trying to do it all. Now I sit here with my teething 10 month old napping in my lap, which NEVER happens anymore so I am soakinng it in.
Congrats Mama!
Happy first Mothers Day. She is beautiful. Can’t wait to try this. Love any thing lemon
Camille is absolutely perfect! Don’t like anything people say through the Internet get you down. People that hide on the Internet behind rude comments are spineless! You will be a great Mom – take it one day at a time and enjoy it. Made the crème brulee last weekend. It was perfection. How do you think it would be with an orange?
Wow wow wow! What a delicious looking & sounding creme brûlée! I’ve never tried a lemon version before, what an amazing creation! Also, a huge congratulations on being a new mum! I’m so happy for you! :)
Amazing color!