I have a really bad sweet tooth so if I cannot have a desert once in a while on a keto diet, I would surely fail to adhere to the strict guidelines. I am a chocoholic and a big fan of this chocolate desert, the mighty Chocolate Crème Brûlée which is nothing but a baked chocolate pudding with a burnt crispy sugar crust on top.

It is very difficult to get a sugar burnt top when there is no sugar involved you say?

I found that Swerve actually browns and burns like sugar and fortunately I had some at home. So, without much delay let us start with this awesome and super easy desert recipe.

To make 4 servings of Chocolate Crème Brûlée you will need:

1 ½ cup of heavy whipping cream

¼ cup of sugar substitute

1 oz of unsweetened baking chocolate

½ teaspoon of instant espresso powder

1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

Pinch of Cinnamon

1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

4 egg yolks

4 teaspoons of Swerve

Preheat the oven to 300° F.

In a saucepan, heat the heavy whipping cream on a medium heat stirring occasionally till tiny bubbles start appearing on the periphery.

Take the saucepan off the heat and add all the ingredients except the egg yolks, vanilla extract and the Swerve. Giver it a stir and let it stand for 10 mins.

After 10 mins, add the vanilla extract to the mixture and whisk until smooth.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks until pale yellow.

Add the cream and chocolate mixture in a thin stream to the egg yolks whisking the egg yolks continuously to avoid curdling ( in fancy terms this method is called tempering).

Once all the cream mixture and egg yolks are incorporated together, it is time to dish up and bake.

Cover the bottom of a baking dish which can accommodate all 4 bowls with a kitchen towel ( this will ensure that the bowls will not move while transporting them from the kitchen counter to the oven).

Distribute the mixture in 4 oven proof custard bowls or ramekins and place them in the baking dish. Pour hot water from the side of the pan to avoid any splashing until 1/3 of the ramekins/bowls are covered. (This process is called Bain Marie and ensures that the food cooks evenly at a lower temperature setting slowly).

Bake the Crème Brûlée for 30 mins until the mixture sets and becomes jiggly in the middle.

Take them out of the hot water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

At this point, you can either put them in the refrigerator to serve later or if you are like me, eat it right away.

To serve, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of swerve on the top of the custard and brown the top either under the broiler ( keep a close watch since it can go pretty quickly) or you can be fancy and torch the top with a Crème Brûlée Torch; and if you just can wait anymore, take a spoon and just dig in. The custard is delicious even without the top crust.

Hope you enjoy.