Vegan Crème Brûlée

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients except the coconut milk, vanilla, and caramelizing sugar in a medium saucepan and whisk well to eliminate clumps. Then add in the coconut milk and whisk until everything is dissolved. If you have an immersion blender, you can use that to mix the ingredients and eliminate any clumps.
2. Turn the heat on medium to medium-high, stirring constantly. Bring the custard mixture to a slow boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, stirring (about 1-2 minutes).
3. Remove custard from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into 4 crème brûlée dishes or 4-ounce ramekins. Let cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. When ready to serve, remove the dishes from the refrigerator and let stand for about 5 minutes. Then spread a thin, even layer of sugar on top of the custard (the amount you'll need will vary depending on how wide your dish is, usually 1/2 to 1 tbsp. per dish). Use a kitchen torch to melt the sugar, holding it so that the tip of the flame is just touching the sugar, and moving the flame evenly across the top. Continue torching the sugar until it turns golden brown. Let the sugar harden (you may wish to refrigerate before serving to allow the custard to thicken again), then serve and enjoy!

Don't hold the torch too close or stay in one spot for too long, or your sugar may burn.

Your custard may soften a bit from the heat of the torch; if you prefer it to be firmer, put it back in the refrigerator for an hour or so after torching.

Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to taste; reduce to 1/4 cup for less sugar or increase to 1/2 cup for a sweeter custard.