Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4. Put 4 x 175ml ramekins in a deep roasting tin. Pour the cream into a pan with the milk.
Split the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the cream. Drop the vanilla pod in too.
Put the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until very pale.
Put the pan with the cream on a medium heat and bring almost to the boil.
Pour the hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, stirring all the time then strain into a jug.
Pour in enough hot water into the roasting tin to come about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the hot cream into the ramekins so they are filled to the top.
Put them in the oven and lay a sheet of foil loosely on top.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is softly set, they should still wobble in the centre.
Lift the ramekins out of the roasting tin with oven gloves and set them on a wire rack to cool a little then chill in the fridge.
When ready to serve, sprinkle about 2 tsps of caster sugar over each ramekin and spread evenly over the surface.
Spray a little water over the sugar to dampen a little, then use a kitchen blowtorch to caramelise. Alternatively, pop under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes. Set aside and serve when the sugar is firm, within 1 hour.
Don’t be tempted to sprinkle extra sugar onto the custard before caramelising. A thin layer is all that is needed.
