I’d say yes, even for one pudding a year. You can caramelise the top of a crème brûlée under the grill, and lots of people do. The trouble is that a grill heats the whole ramekin, and the custard underneath, which you spent ages getting just set, starts to warm through and loosen while you wait for the sugar to colour. You also get patchy results, with one corner black and the middle still white. A torch only heats the sugar, so the custard stays cold and the crack on top is the proper glassy kind.
Once it’s in the drawer, it picks up other jobs too. You can toast the meringue on a lemon tart or a baked Alaska, or blister peppers without lighting the hob. It’s also handy for crisping the fat on a joint that’s come out of the oven a bit pale, or for melting cheese on a bowl of French onion soup.
Sondiko’s torch
The Sondiko kitchen blow torch is a sensible pick and one of the most-reviewed torches on Amazon UK. A couple of details make it easier to live with than the very basic ones.
The flame control and the lock both sit under your thumb, so you can hold a ramekin steady with your other hand. There’s a clear fuel window in the base with a MAX line on it, so you can see when it’s running low and you don’t overfill it when topping up. That matters more than it sounds. Running out halfway round six puddings at a dinner party is exactly when it would happen.
It holds about 10g of gas, which the listing says gives 20 to 50 minutes of flame depending on how high you run it. That’s dozens of brûlées. It uses piezo ignition, so you press a button rather than flicking a lighter, and it works at any angle, including upside down. There’s also a continuous flame lock, so you don’t have to keep the trigger held in.
Things to know before you order
- Gas isn’t included. You’ll need a can of butane, which you can find in supermarkets and hardware shops. The listing says it fits any brand, with a red adapter in the box for cans with a short nozzle.
- It gets very hot. The flame reaches over 1,300°C. Keep it a hand’s width from the sugar and keep it moving, or you’ll scorch it.
- Let it rest after filling. Give the gas a minute or two to settle before lighting it, and never refill it near a lit hob.
How to get a good top
Chill the custards properly first, overnight if you can. Sprinkle a thin, even layer of caster sugar (not granulated, which is too coarse), tip off any excess, and torch it in small circles until it goes amber. Do a second thin layer if you like a thicker crust. Leave them for a couple of minutes so the caramel hardens before anyone gets a spoon in. If you still need ramekins, I’ve covered which ramekins are worth buying for fondants, and the same ones work here.
