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Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream)
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 4 egg yolks at room temperature
- 1/3 cup superfine sugar
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup light brown sugar
Details
Servings 6
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Pour the cream into a small, heavy saucepan. Scrape in the vanilla seeds from inside the bean, then drop the bean into the cream. Scald the cream, stirring occasionally. Cool.
While the cream cools, beat the egg yolks with the superfine sugar until pale yellow and fairly thick, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Trickle the warm cream into the thickened yolks, stirring well. Pour finished custard through a strainer, then into six round, shallow, 1/2 cup capacity broiler-proof ramekins or dishes.
Place ramekins into a water bath (see note)
Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake until barely set, about 30 to 40 minutes (or longer if you prefer a more set custard) I usually bake about an hour.
Remove custard from water bath, and cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate until well chilled (overnight is ideal).
Just before serving, preheat broiler (if you have a torch you can use as well). Push brown sugar through a fine strainer over the custards, or finely sprinkle by hand, forming a thin even layer on each one. Broil until sugar just melts and begins to bubble and caramelize evenly, watching carefully and turning dishes as necessary. This should take less than a minute or two, then serve. Crack the candy crust with the back of your spoon to eat.
Note: Bake in water bath. Place the pots in a baking dish about the height of the pots. Put the pan in the oven and carefully pour hot water into the pan, coming halfway up the sides of the pots.
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