crème brûlée

American  

[krem broo-ley, kreem, krem bry-ley] / ˌkrɛm bruˈleɪ, ˌkrim, krɛm brüˈleɪ /

noun

French Cooking.

plural

crèmes brûlées

1. a custard that has been sprinkled with sugar and placed under a broiler until a brown crust forms on top.

---

crème brûlée British  

/ krɛm bryle /

noun

1. a cream or custard dessert covered with caramelized sugar

---

Etymology

Origin of crème brûlée

1885–90; < French: literally, burnt cream

Example Sentences

Torched dessert cracks like ice, crème brûlée with salted caramel mousse and cloudberry compote, fire and frost in one spoonful.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

If you go to a restaurant charging €19.50, your total cost for a veal steak with rice and a crème brûlée is just $23 at current exchange rates.

From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026

One character in “Never Mind” has “a face like a crème brûlée after the first blow of the spoon, all covered in little cracks.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

From the start, Yagi’s star menu item has been her black sesame crème brûlée.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 22, 2024

Heylmun had the vanilla gelato and the mango sorbet but not before she thought hard about the crème brûlée.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell