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This is one of those recipes that feels fancy, but takes less than an hour of active time and barely makes a mess. Win-win.

There’s something about the holidays that calls for a dessert that feels both comforting and a little luxurious—and this peppermint mocha crème brûlée fits the bill perfectly. It’s the kind of dessert that makes your kitchen smell like a café in December—warm espresso, melted chocolate, and the cool sweetness of peppermint mingling together. It’s festive without being fussy, indulgent yet surprisingly easy to make.

A few basic ingredients—cream, eggs, sugar, and chocolate—come together with little effort. The peppermint and coffee extract add a holiday twist that feels special without requiring any complicated techniques. You can make the custards a day ahead, stash them in the fridge, and torch the tops just before serving.

This dessert captures everything that’s wonderful about holiday baking: flavor that feels nostalgic and new all at once, texture that’s both crisp and creamy, and the joy of creating something that looks impressive but invites everyone to dig right in. It’s a little bit of holiday magic in every spoonful.

Why You’ll LOVE This Crème Brûlée

Festive flavor combination captures the spirit of the season
Dreamy texture pairs a crisp caramelized sugar top and a silky, creamy custard
Elegant enough for a holiday dinner, but simple enough to make ahead
Only requires a few basic ingredients and minimal prep, but looks like it came out of a pastry kitchen

Here’s what you’ll need:

Kitchen staples – Heavy cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla
Chocolate – Dark or semisweet to add a bit of bitterness to balance the sweetness
Coffee extract – A secret weapon for adding punchy coffee flavor without brewing a drop
Peppermint candy – No need to buy peppermint extract – the candy works just fine!
Kitchen torch – Any excuse to play with fire, right?

Crème Brûlée Tips

Temper eggs. The goal is to slowly and gently raise the temperature of the eggs while avoiding scrambling them.

Water bath. You’ll be baking your custard in small ramekins placed into a larger baking dish, with hot water filling the larger dish until halfway up the sides of the ramekins. A water bath helps the custard cook evenly and greatly improves texture.

Measuring doneness. You’ve done everything right, the custard is in the oven, but how to avoid over-baking? Oven time is a guide, but there are 2 ways to know your custard is perfectly baked. First, gently shake your ramekin and look for edges that are set but a center that jiggles. If it still looks like soup/liquid, keep it in the oven. Second, you can use an instant-read thermometer. When the temperature reads 170°F, they’re done.

How to make this crème brûlée:

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place 3 6-oz ramekins into a baking dish with high sides.
In a medium pot, heat cream over medium heat until just simmering. Add peppermint and dissolve. Off heat, add melted chocolate, coffee extract, and vanilla extract.
Whisk together egg, egg yolk, and sugar until pale yellow in color. Temper cream mixture into eggs.
Divide mixture evenly between the ramekins. Prepare water bath.
Bake until custards are set. Then, remove from water bath and cool to room temperature before moving ramekins to the fridge to fully set.
When ready to serve, sprinkle with granulated sugar and torch. Top with whipped cream and crushed peppermint candy.

FAQ

Most dark or semisweet chocolates work well here. Look for something listed as between 55%-75%.

This is generally optional, but I like to. Straining ensures no cooked egg bits end up in your custard and also helps eliminate some of those small bubbles that end up on the surface of your custard.

This can be made up to 2 days ahead of time, with ramekins wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated.

Shop The Tools I Use

Kitchen scale: https://amzn.to/48OrR0f
Ramekins: https://amzn.to/3Wrhfx1
Kitchen torch: https://amzn.to/4333FDC
Better kitchen torch: https://amzn.to/3JAZaJR
3-Quart sauce pan: https://amzn.to/49rxq4W

“So simple and delicious. Chocolate, coffee, and peppermint are a match made in heaven! This is a new go-to for me.” – Steph M.

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