Crème brûlée

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F.

Split the vanilla bean in half and add to a small saucepan with the cream.

Set the pan over medium heat.

Once the cream starts to bubble around the edges, remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light in color.

Add a ladle of the hot cream and whisk into the egg yolk mixture.

Stream in the hot cream whilst whisking continuously until everything is combined.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a jug (this makes it easier to pour the custard into the ramekins).

Set your ramekins in a deep baking dish then fill each with the custard. I use 150-200ml (5-6oz) ramekins.

Carefully pour boiling hot water into the baking dish until the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

To bake the custard, place the roasting dish in a preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes until the edges are set but the center still has a slight jiggle.

Remove from the oven then allow to cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Transfer to the fridge and allow to set for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Once you're ready to serve, sprinkle a tablespoon of caster sugar to the top of each pot of custard then using a kitchen blow torch, caramelize the sugar.

This can also be done under the oven's broiler/grill ? but there's always the risk of the custard softening too much, which is why I prefer using a blowtorch.

Allow the sugar to harden for a minute or two then serve immediately.