This dessert consists of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel ( made of sprinkle sugar and torching it or by putting it in the broiler for a couple of minutes) . It is normally served cold. The custard base is traditionally flavored with vanilla, but is also sometimes flavored with lemon or orange zest, chocolate, coffee, liquor, or fruit.
The origins of crème brûlée are very much in contention, with the English, Spanish, and French all staking claim.The Spanish have taken credit for "crema catalana" since the eighteenth century, while the English claim it originated in seventeenth-century Britain, where it was known as "burnt cream" and apparently wasn't until the end of the nineteenth century that common usage of the French translation came into vogue as Creme Brulee.
