1.Infuse The Cream
10 mins.
Pour the heavy cream and a pinch of salt into a saucepan.Use a paring knife to slit the vanilla pod lengthwise.Scrape out the thousands of tiny seeds with the back of the knife and add both the seeds and the empty pod straight into the cream. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then immediately remove from the stove. Cover and let it steep for 10 minutes.
2.Whisk yolks and sugar
2 mins.
While the cream is infusing, whisk the 5 egg yolks and 100g of caster sugar together in a bowl until the mixture turns slightly pale and well combined. Try not to whip too much air into it we want a dense, creamy custard, not a bubbly one.
3.Temper the mixture
3 mins.
Preheat your oven to 160°C (140°C fan / Gas Mark 3). Remove the empty vanilla pod from the warm cream. While whisking the egg mixture constantly, slowly pour in the warm cream a splash at a time. This “tempering” process warms up the eggs gradually so they don’t scramble.
4.Strain and pour
2 mins.
While the cream is infusing, whisk the 5 egg yolks and 100g of caster sugar together in a bowl until the mixture turns slightly pale and well combined. Try not to whip too much air into it we want a dense, creamy custard, not a bubbly one.
5.Temper the mixture
35-40 mins.
Boil a kettle. Carefully pour the hot water into the baking dish around the ramekins, coming about halfway up their sides. The water protects the delicate eggs from curdling in the oven.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges should be set, but the centers should still have a gentle, gelatin-like wobble when nudged.
6.Chill to set
4+ hours
Remove the ramekins from the hot water and let them cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight) until completely cold and firm.
7.The grand finale: Torch
2 mins.
Just before serving, sprinkle a thin, even layer of caster sugar over the top of each chilled custard. Tap off any excess. Use a kitchen blowtorch to melt and caramelize the sugar until it forms a deep golden-brown crust.
Let it sit for 2 minutes to harden into glass before serving.
