A silky vanilla custard baked slowly in a water bath, then finished with a thin sheet of caramelised sugar that cracks under the spoon. The contrast between the cold, barely set cream and the warm shattered sugar is the whole point. Six small ramekins are enough for a dinner party.
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Terms ↗7 Steps
Heat the oven to 150 C. Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape the seeds into the cream and drop in the pod. Warm over medium-low heat until the cream steams and small bubbles form at the edge, then take it off the heat and steep for 10 minutes.
Whisk the yolks, caster sugar and salt until just combined and slightly lighter in colour. Do not whip air into them or the baked custards will be foamy on top.
Remove the vanilla pod. Pour the hot cream into the yolks in a thin stream while whisking constantly, then strain the custard through a fine sieve into a jug and skim off any foam.
Set six shallow ramekins in a deep roasting tin and divide the custard between them. Pour hot water into the tin to come halfway up the sides, and cover the tin loosely with foil.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The custards are done when the edges are set but the centre still wobbles as one piece when you nudge the tin, like soft jelly.
Lift the ramekins out of the water, cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until cold and firm.
Just before serving, blot any condensation from the surface, sprinkle each custard with an even layer of demerara sugar and tilt to shed the excess. Melt the sugar with a blowtorch, keeping the flame moving, until it turns amber and hardens. Rest for 2 minutes before serving.
The 20 minute prep time does not include chilling: the baked custards need at least 4 hours in the fridge, and overnight is better. Torch the sugar only just before serving, otherwise the crust softens within half an hour.
Comments (3)
scaled it to twelve for a dinner and the timing held with two trays
my torch ran out of gas halfway. does the grill work instead?
it does. top rack, watch it constantly, and chill them ten more minutes after so the custard firms up again.
the water bath felt fussy but the texture is worth every bit of it