As much as we love following in grandma’s footsteps and whipping up from-scratch recipes when our schedules allow, we’re not shy to admit that we fully embrace a culinary shortcut. (Hey, even Ina Garten and Kristen Kish do it.)

Whether it’s rotisserie chicken, boxed cake mix, or frozen puff pastry, we adore getting a head start on a recipe with a store-bought staple—and then giving it a glow-up into something new. 

It’s hard to go wrong when remixing store-bought staples, and Sunny Anderson’s “Nunya Business Crème Brûlée,” a recipe she shared on a recent episode of The Kitchen, proves that.

Anderson’s crème brûlée is part of the Food Network star’s “nunya business” recipe collection: dozens of dishes that center around hidden store-bought secrets. When friends ask her for the secret that makes the dish so delicious, Anderson casually replies that it’s none of their business. (Other delicious examples include Nunya Business Meatloaf with French onion soup mix, Nunya Business Class of ’93 Square Cheese Pizza built atop bakery focaccia bread, and Nunya Business Tropical Baked Beans jazzed up with fresh mango salsa.)

Anderson’s sweet and simple crème brûlée might just be her most brilliant semi-homemade recipe yet, if you ask us… and our Test Kitchen. The secret: Melted ice cream.

How to Make This Easy Ice Cream Crème Brûlée Recipe

“I love a good shortcut, and even more, I love to share them,” Anderson explained, introducing the recipe. “This is a quick home cook’s remedy to crème brûlée that is making its rounds online. I add my own twist for flavor and curb appeal, and voilà, no one knows just how easy this dessert is unless you tell them!”

To follow her lead, you just need vanilla ice cream, egg yolks (use the whites for meringue, angel food cake, soufflé, or mousse), and white sugar. Yes, that’s all it takes to get yourself a homemade crème brûlée!

Making Anderson’s easy dessert recipe is just as simple as the ingredient list: Allow 2 cups of vanilla ice cream to melt, then whisk that together with 4 large egg yolks and a pinch of salt. Place four 3-inch ramekins inside a deep baking dish, and pour this custard evenly into each. Use a liquid measuring cup to pour hot water around the ramekins until it reaches about halfway up the sides, being careful not to pour any inside the ramekins. Cook in a 325° F oven for 45 minutes, or until the custard looks set but still jiggles a bit near the middle.

Allow the custards to cool in the water bath until they reach room temp, then cover each ramekin in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight to allow the filling to chill. One hour before you plan to serve, remove the cooled custard from the fridge.

In the meantime, bring a nonstick skillet to medium heat. Spray two 3-inch ring molds with nonstick cooking spray. Place a piece of parchment paper on the surface of the skillet, and spray it as well.

Add the rings on top of the greased parchment, then pour 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar in each ring mold. (This will be your caramelized sugar topping. Just like with our Crème Brûlée Pie, no culinary torch is required.) Cook until the sugar turns amber in color, which should take about 2 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and wait 2 minutes, then carefully transfer the parchment paper sheet and molds to a sheet pan. Allow them to cool for 3 or 4 more minutes, then gently press each sugar disc out from the molds. Repeat the same process to make 2 more, then top each ramekin with a sugar disc. Garnish with fresh berries if desired.

What Our Test Kitchen Thinks About This Easy Crème Brûlée

After seeing Anderson demonstrate this recipe on TV and snagging the recipe, we called up Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen brand manager Sarah Brekke, M.S., to get her expert opinion about the strategy.

“For a quick crème brûlée hack, I really like this concept,” she says. “I haven’t personally tried it yet, but after watching many TikToks and reading other recipes, this really does make sense. My mind is running wild with different flavor variations that might be delicious—I bet a chocolate ice cream crème brûlée would be just lovely.”

This isn’t the only party trick you can try with melted ice cream. It’s essentially the same thing as crème anglaise, “a classic custardy sauce made up of milk, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla,” Brekke explains. 

While crème anglaise is typically served over cakes, desserts, or with fresh fruits, it’s a starting point for many recipes, Brekke says. Since ice cream offers “the perfect combo of fat, liquid, and sugar” for many purposes, you can sub it in for a similar effect and flavor.

“I’d recommend that readers buy a high quality ice cream,” she says. “Better ice creams use higher quality ingredients. Plus, less air is incorporated into the mixture, and there are less additives and stabilizers such as guar gum and carrageenan.”

Bonus Ways to Use Melted Ice Cream

In addition to melted ice cream crème brûlée, Brekke recommends:

• Ice Cream Bread. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of melted ice cream and 1 ½ cups self-rising flour. Transfer to a greased 8 ½- x 4 ½- x 2 ½-inch loaf pan, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. “We like to sprinkle some rainbow sprinkles over the top before baking for a fun final appearance,” Brekke suggests.
• Ice Cream Tiramisu Cake. In a large bowl, combine a pint of melted coffee ice cream with a box of vanilla cake mix and 3 eggs to make cake batter. Pour this mixture into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes until it passes the toothpick test. For a topping, spike cream cheese frosting with coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua), then mix to combine and to reach a spreadable consistency.
• Ice Cream Fudge. Melt 1 ½ pounds of finely-chopped semisweet chocolate, then allow it to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate with 1 ½ cups of your favorite ice cream (that’s mostly melted and softened, but not completely liquefied). Pour this mixture into a foil-lined and greased 8- x 8-inch baking pan. Allow the fudge to cool for at least 4 hours at room temperature, or chill at least 1 hour before cutting and serving.
• Ice Cream French Toast. Our Classic Homemade French Toast recipe calls for dipping slices of bread in a combo of eggs, milk, vanilla, and sugar. Sound familiar? “High-quality vanilla ice cream can be melted down and used as the liquid mixture for dipping bread to make French toast,” Brekke says. Try it as a shortcut for one of these 21 French toast recipes that will satisfy every craving.