Ingredients

• 200g - 7oz. sugar (half for caramel, you can also use raw sugar for caramel)
• 6 egg yolks
• 600 ml - 2½ cups heavy cream
• 1 Vanilla bean pod
• A little salt

Steps

• Step 1

  Using all the eggs, separate the yolks from the whites and place the yolks in a mixing bowl (keep whites for another recipe). Add a pinch or two of salt. Add half the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk gently (cream the eggs until lighter in colour). Add all the cream to a pot and place on high heat. Split the vanilla bean in half, scrape out all the seeds and add seed paste to cream together with split pod bits. Give the cream a gentle stir and continue heating until hot but do not boil.

• Step 2

  Once hot, pour a small part of the cream into (eggs and sugar) mixing bowl and whisk fast. Pour a little more and continue whisking, add the remainder of the cream and whisk to mix fast avoiding creating any foam. Strain mixture into a jug that makes it easy to pour.

• Step 3

  We now have to make a Bain Marie (hot water bath). Line a large baking dish with a cloth or kitchen towel on the bottom of the dish, keeping it away from the top so it doesn’t burn. Arrange your moulds into it. Pour in the custard mixture in each mould leaving a short gap from the top. Carefully fill the dish (Bain Marie) with boiling water until the level reaches half way up the moulds. Be careful not to pour into moulds and ensure the cloth is fully submerged. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes at 140°C – 280°F.

• Step 4

  Remove each mould from Bain Marie and let cool. Once cool refrigerate for a few hours before the next step.

• Step 5

  Just before serving, sprinkle one tbs of white sugar ensuring all the custard is covered (you shouldn’t see any custard, only sugar). Using a mini cooking torch, melt the sugar until it caramelises. Hold the torch one to two inches away. It works better if you do a light melt first, then repeat a second time.

Little Tips

You can wash the strained vanilla beans, let them dry naturally and add them to your sugar for that vanilla sugar flavour.
Cover the cremes with cling film if storing in the fridge for more than half a day.
If you don't own a mini torch, you can use a broiler (grill) by turning the heat on full, and rasing the shelf as close to the element possible.