Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

Preheat oven to Fan Oven 130°C/150°C/300°F/Gas 2

Make the custard: pour the cream into a small, heavy-based pan and add the vanilla paste. Bring to the boil over a medium-low heat.

Whilst the cream is heating, put the yolks and caster sugar into a bowl and stir until just combined.

When the cream begins to boil, pour on to the egg yolks and sugar stirring constantly to mix.

Put a sieve over a 1litre/2 pint jug and strain the custard.

Put your ovenproof ramekins in a baking tin or dish and divide the custard equally between them.

Pour boiling water into the tin until it comes two-thirds of the way up the ramekins.

Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for about 20 – 35 minutes until the custard is set – it should only wobble faintly when shaken. The timing will depend on the size of ramekins used. (See Recipe Notes below for the size I use.) I cook mine for 25 minutes precisely.

Cool and then chill until cold.

Topping: up to an hour before serving, scatter the tops of each cold Brûlée with 1 teaspoon caster sugar.

Either, use a blowtorch to caramelise the sugar. OR

If you do not have a blowtorch, you can caramelise the tops under a grill – keep a very close eye as they may not all cook at the same rate and can catch fire if over cooked! If using a grill, you may need to put the brûlées in the fridge to cool down before serving.