Crème Brûlée

Heat the cream with the vanilla pod and seeds until it just steams, then take it off and leave it 20 minutes to infuse.

Whisk the yolks, the 75 g of sugar and the salt until pale, then pour the warm cream in slowly, whisking all the time.

💡 Slowly, and whisking. Hot cream poured into yolks in one go scrambles them, and no amount of sieving turns scrambled egg back into custard.

Strain through a fine sieve, then skim off every bubble on the surface with a spoon.

💡 Bubbles bake into permanent craters, and a crème brûlée is judged on a flat surface — the sugar cannot form an even sheet over a pitted one.

Pour into six shallow ramekins, stand them in a roasting tin, and pour hot water around them to halfway up.

Bake at 140°C for 35–45 minutes. They are done when the edges are set and the centre still moves as one piece when you nudge the tin.

💡 One piece, not ripples. Rippling means it is still liquid; no movement at all means it is overcooked and will be grainy.

Cool, then chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, spread a teaspoon of sugar evenly over each and burn it with a blowtorch until it is dark amber. Serve within 10 minutes.

💡 At the last moment, and never earlier. The sugar sheet starts dissolving into the cold custard from underneath within about fifteen minutes, and by half an hour it is syrup.