Vanilla Crème Brulée

A simple French classic that never fails - serve with tangy fruit such as physalis or strawberries on the side to balance the sweetness of the vanilla cream. Fresh vanilla essential.

Ingredients

• 5 egg yolks

• 50g caster sugar

• 1 vanilla pod

• 100ml milk (skimmed, semi-skimmed or whole all fine)

• 430ml double cream

• 5tbsp caster sugar for top crust

Method

Pre=heat oven to 180ºc (or 160ºc for gas).

Split the vanilla pod lengthways, and with a teaspoon carefully scoop out all the seeds. Set aside.

In a medium pan with a heavy bottom, place the cream and milk, along with the vanilla pod and seeds.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and the 50g sugar until egg is foamy and very pale in colour.

On medium heat, bring the milk mixture to just below boiling - when you spot bubbles along the edge of the pan, turn off heat. Scoop out the vanilla pods and discard.

Slowly add the cream mixture into the egg mixture, constantly whisking as you do. The cream should be added gradually in a thin stream to control the temperature and to avoid cooking the egg.

In a deep oven dish or the tray of your oven, place 4 ramequins.

Carefully skim the surface of the cream mixture with a spoon to remove the bubbles that sit on top of the, discarding the foam and leaving a smooth even texture..

Through a fine sieve, pour the custard mixture into the ramequins.

Place the tray containing the ramequins into the second to bottom shelf of the oven, and pour hot water into the tray, ensuring it comes 2/3rds up the side of the ramequins. Cover the tray loosely with a large sheet of foil leaving gaps on both side for air to circulate but ensuring the opening of the ramequins are covered.

Bake for about 30 minutes - until the centre of the cream is still wobbly. Ensure the creams are not hard. Remove the ramequins from the oven and let rest until completely cooled. Place in the fridge until ready to finish (can be made up to 2 days in advance).

When ready, sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoon of caster sugar over each ramequin in a fine even layer. Sprinkle a little bit of water over the sugar (a few droplets is enough), then using a blow torch work your way around the sugar in circular motions to caramelise the sugar. Once it is a caramel colour with some darker spots, leave to rest for 10 minutes for sugar to cool and harden.

Serve with tangy fruit on the side for contrast such as strawberries or physalis.