Ingredients:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 1 whole vanilla bean
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/4 cup superfine sugar

Instructions:

  1. Place the heavy cream, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, and the scraped vanilla bean pod and seeds into a saucepan. Heat over medium until steaming with small bubbles around the edges; do not boil. Remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and salt until smooth.
  3. Slowly drizzle about 1/2 cup of the warm cream into the yolks while whisking constantly to temper the eggs.
  4. Gradually whisk in the remaining cream until combined. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pitcher.
  5. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place 6 ramekins in a 9x13 inch baking pan and pour the custard evenly among them.
  6. Carefully pour boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
  7. Bake for 30–35 minutes until edges are set but center still jiggles slightly.
  8. Remove from water bath and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.
  9. Just before serving, sprinkle superfine sugar evenly over the top of each custard and caramelize using a kitchen torch or broiler until a hard, glassy crust forms.