Original: Crème brûlée ( crème brulée in L'Orthographie 1990 ) ( French for '' burnt cream '' ; in English , in French ) , burnt cream , crema catalana , or Trinity cream is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel .
Simplified: The custard base is normally flavored with vanilla , but it can be flavored with chocolate , liqueur , fruit , or other .