← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 500 ml double (heavy) cream
• 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste), split, seeds scraped
• 5 egg yolks
• 60 g caster sugar
• 4 tsp caster or demerara sugar, for the tops

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan, 300°F). Put four 150 ml ramekins in a roasting tin and boil a kettle.
2. Warm the cream with the vanilla pod and seeds over medium heat until steaming and small bubbles appear at the edge; do not let it boil. Take it off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 min.
3. Whisk the yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale. Remove the pod, then pour the warm cream onto the yolks in a thin stream, whisking gently so you do not create lots of foam. Strain through a sieve into a jug.
4. Divide the custard between the ramekins. Pour hot water into the tin to come halfway up their sides, then bake for 30–35 min, until set at the edges with a gentle wobble in the centre, like jelly.
5. Lift the ramekins out, let them cool, then cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
6. Just before serving, sprinkle a thin, even layer of sugar over each custard. Melt it with a cook's blowtorch until it turns a deep amber caramel, then leave for 1–2 min to harden.

Tips

• No blowtorch? Put the sugared ramekins on a tray under a very hot grill for 2–3 min, watching closely.
• Save the egg whites for meringues or an omelette; they freeze well too.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food RecipeTin Eats Great British Chefs