MARCO PIERRE WHITE: CAMBRIDGE BURNT CREAM

Preparation

1. Put the egg yolks into a bowl and add the caster sugar. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pods and add them to the bowl. Whisk together until the sugar  has dissolved into the yolks.

2. Scald the cream in a saucepan (heat to the point where tiny bubbles form around the edges, and a bit of a skin forms on the surface, but do not boil), take off the heat and whisk into the bowl with the other ingredients. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve to trap any large vanilla seeds. Pre heat the oven to 120°C.

3. Cut a piece of cotton cloth to fit into the bottom of a large deep sided baking tray. Take four shallow ramekin dishes and put them into the tray. Ladle the cream mixture into the ramekins. Pour boiling water into the tray until it is half way up the sides of the ramekins – this creates a hot water bath.

4. Place the tray into the oven for 30-40 minutes until set. Allow the ramekins to cool, then place them in the fridge to chill.

5. Set the grill to a very hot temperature.

6. When chilled, sprinkle each ramekin with a tablespoon of demerara sugar. Place under the grill and glaze until the sugar melts and turns golden brown.  Once the sugar has set hard, serve.