When cookies meet crème brûlée, something magical happens. These are the tastiest chocolate crème brûlée cookies. Rich and chocolaty chocolate raspberry cookies topped with a swirl of luscious chocolate pastry cream and a crisp sugar shell. Vegan, easy to make, egg-free, dairy-free and delicious!
Vegan Chocolate Crème brulee cookies
These are the BEST chocolate crème brûlée cookies! They are chocolaty, chewy, buttery and soft sugar cookies with a creamy chocolate pastry cream topped with caramelized sugar. The combination of the rich chocolate paired with swet and tart raspberry is un-matched. It’s a flavour combination made in heaven! If you love chocolate and raspberry (and also fun desserts), you are going to love these cookies!
Looking for more chocolate desserts, check out my Vegan Chocolate Ombre Cheesecake, Fudgey Healthy Vegan Brownies, Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie, Vegan Nutella Cake and Easy Vegan Chocolate Muffins.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- They’re topped with delicious chocolate pastry cream: It’s unbelievably creamy and scrumptious. I can’t even tell you how good it is!!!
- Perfect combination of flavours: The chocolate and tart raspberry cookie pairs SO well with the sweet creamy pastry cream. A match made in flavour heaven for sure!
- Easy to make: Easy recipes are the best, they require minimal effort but the outcome is amazing. These cookies take less than 15 minutes to make, and can be ready in only an hour!!
- The cookie are topped with a caramelised sugar shell: The best part about these cookies is their crisp sugar topping. It’s SO MUCH FUN!!!!
- Vegan recipe: This recipe doesn’t contain any animal derived ingredients. Always triple check your ingredients before using to ensure they are vegan friendly.
Ingredients you’ll need
You can find the full ingredients list and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Dairy-free butter – A vegan block butter works best. I use Flora Un-salted Plant Block!
- Caster sugar – Fine white sugar, you can also use granulated.
- Dairy-free milk – Any dairy-free / plant milk works great including oat, cashew, soya and almond. Unsweetened soya milk works best.
- All purpose / plain flour – As we’re making cookies, only use plain flour. It gives the cookies the best texture.
- Cocoa powder – High quality gives the best, decadent flavour!
- Baking powder
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Freeze dried raspberries
- Cornstarch / cornflour – Essential ingredient for thickening the pastry cream.
- Vegan / dairy-free chocolate – Use a 70% or above for the best rich flavour.
- Fresh raspberries – Top the cookies with fresh raspberry for decoration.
Layers of a chocolate crème brûlée cookie
The thought / idea of making a creme brûlée dessert is always worse than it seems. I remember thinking crème brûlée was a very technical dessert which required lots of tools, time, equipment and skill. Little did I know, it’s possibly one of the easiest desserts you can make- haha! I’ve listed the three simple layers to this recipe below. Remember, you can find the full written recipe and method in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Cookie: When I tell you you’re going to love these cookies, I mean it. Thie is my go-to cookie recipe when I want a thick, yet chewy and buttery cookie. The dough is super soft which means the cookie practically melts in your mouth. The cookie contains decadent cocoa and gets it’s fruity side via freeze dried raspberries. I use freeze dried raspberries as they dont effect the texture of the dough, but give so much flavour.
- Chocolate pastry cream: I think from now on, I’ll call it ‘pastry dream’ instead of pastry cream as they are just so dreamy. The pastry cream is similar to a custard, with lots of chocolate flavour. This recipe also thickens up perfectly meaning it’s easily piped on-top of the cookies without any risk of it oozing off the sides. It’s simple, delicious and really helps to elevate the cookies!!!
- Sugar topping: There is nothing more fun than cracking the hard candy / sugar top of these cookies. It’s the same method as a real crème brûlée dessert, simple sprinkle some sugar over the pastry cream and torch it! Its completely optional but OH MY, it’s amazing! Make sure to check out my Lemon crème brûlée cookie and classic crème brûlée cookie versions!
How to make Vegan Chocolate Crème Brulee Cookies
You’ll have a blast making these rich and creamy cookies. Find the full written recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of the page. You can also click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of the page.
- Make the cookie dough
Cream all the ingredients in a bowl / stand mixer with paddle attachment until combined. Fold in the freeze dried raspberries. Scoop 45g balls of dough and place on a lined tray, bake then allow to cool.
- Chocolate pastry cream
Add all of the ingredients into a saucepan and place on the hob over low / medium heat. Allow to cook and bubble until thick, then turn off the heat and allow to cool. You will need to give it a vigorous whisk before using to remove any clumps. Transfer into a piping bag and pipe a swirl of pastry cream to the top of each cookie.
- Caramelised sugar topping
Sprinkle approximately 1tbs of caster / a fine white sugar to the top of the pastry cream. Use a kitchen blow torch to brûlée the sugar. Allow to cool for a few seconds, then tap it to see if it’s got a crisp shell.
- Serve
Place a fresh raspberry to the top of each cookie, serve and enjoy!
Chocolate Crème brûlée cookie FAQ
Where do I use a kitchen blow torch?
- I have linked the one I use here.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
- You sure can. Simple switch out the wheat based flour for a gluten-free flour. Make sure it’s of good quality.
How did you get your cookies so round?
- The cookies actually bake and hold their round shape, but to make sure they all match and are neat, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to scoot them into a perfectly circular shape.
Storing the pastry cream?
- Store the pastry cream in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. It will thicken and a skin may form in the fridge, so give it a vigorous whisk before using again. Use an immersion / hand blender blender to help
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Any questions regarding the recipe, ask in the comments below. Happy baking all!
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Chocolate Crème Brûlée Cookies
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Unbelievably Vegan Chocolate Crème Brûlée Cookies with raspberry and a creamy vegan chocolate pastry cream and crisp sugar shell. Delicious!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cookie
- 115g of dairy-free butter (cubed / softened)
- 140g of caster sugar
- 30ml of dairy-free milk
- 200g of all purpose / plain flour
- 25g of cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 80g of freeze dried raspberries
- Handful of dairy-free dark chocolate chips (optional)
Ingredients for the pastry cream
- 400ml of dairy-free milk (Preferred is unsweetened soya milk)
- 80g of caster sugar / granulated sugar
- 50g of cornstarch / cornflour
- 30g of cocoa powder
- 20g of dairy-free chocolate (70% or above dark chocolate works the best!)
- 50g of dairy-free butter (room temperature)
Ingredients for the sugar topping
- 80g of caster sugar / fine white sugar
- Fresh raspberries (for decoration)
Instructions
Method (cookies)
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
- Add the butter and sugar into a bowl / the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Whip to until light and creamy.
- Add the milk. Whip again until combined.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda. Mix until just combined.
- Fold in the freeze dried raspberries.
- Scoop the cookie dough into 45g balls using spoons or an ice-cream scoop.
- Optional step – Sprinkle some chocolate chips over the cookies before baking.
- Place the cookies on the lined tray (leave the dough in balls, don’t press them down!), leaving room in between as they will spread when baking.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
- Once baked, remove the tray from the oven, use a round cookie cutter to help shape the cookies. Use a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to scoot the cookies into a circle.
- Allow the cookies to cool fully on the baking tray / cooling rack. They’ll be soft when first out the oven but will crisp up.
- Set aside while you prepare the pastry cream.
Method (chocolate pastry cream)
- Add the milk, sugar, cornstarch / cornflour, cocoa powder and chocolate to a medium sized saucepan and whisk together to remove any clumps. Set to low / medium heat.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook on low / medium heat for appropriately 5-8 minutes. Continuously whisk the mixture using a hand held whisk until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and doesn’t drip off the whisk easily. Use a heat proof rubber spatula to make sure the pastry cream doesn’t stick to the bottom and sides of the pan. The mixture will become thick once the cornstarch is cooked, remove it from the heat. DO NOT over cook or it can become rubbery!
- Once cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the butter, you want this to be fully incorporated in.
- Pour into a separate bowl, cover the bowl with clingfilm to prevent a skin from forming and allow the cream to cool. You can transfer into the fridge once it’s cooler for an hour before using. You want to use it when its cool.
- It will thicken up when set, so to bring it back to a creamy consistency for piping, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Transfer into a piping bag fitted with medium round tip nozzle.
- Pipe a swirl of the chocolate pastry cream on-top of each cookie.
Method (sugar shell)
- Coat the chocolate pastry cream with a sprinkle of granulated sugar, appropriately 1 tablespoon per cookie.
- Use a kitchen blowtorch to brûlée the top of each cooke until they’re golden, smelling toasty and amazing!! Be very careful doing this step.
- Allow them to cool for 5 minutes as the sugar will be VERY hot!
- Top with a fresh raspberry on each cookie, tuck in and enjoy!
Notes
To store: Keep the cookies fresh in an air tight / sealed container in the fridge. Its best to store the cookies and pastry cream separate then decorate and brûlée day of serving for the ultimate crunch of the sugar topping and best results.
Best enjoyed within 3 days of making.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 12-14 minutes
- Category: cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
What could I substitute the freezed dried raspberries with?