It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard, while leaving the center cool.

The earliest known recipe of a dessert called crème brûlée appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois,[3][4] but its ultimate origins are unclear.

[6] The practice of browning dishes with a hot iron was already documented in La Varenne's Cuisinier françois, published in 1651.

[8] In 1740, he referred to a similar recipe as crême à l'Angloise, or 'English cream', which further cast doubt on its origins.

To do this, sugar is sprinkled onto the custard, then caramelized under a red-hot salamander (a cast-iron disk with a long wooden handle) or with a butane torch.