A crème brûlée feels daunting to make but a challenge is always welcome at kitchen therapy. And I am lucky to have countless mouths to feed to keep making batches until I get it just perfect. This is why I brought this down to a small batch recipe – yielding 4 mini ramekins or 2 large ones. I love that this dessert has stayed well in the fridge for upto 4-5 days, with the flavour enhaced beautifully as the days passed. Now the timing of each step is crucial – and because I’ve done this countless time (ask my father’s tummy!), I have it down to the T. There have been time I let it bake 5 minutes more, and it became cheesecake like texture which was just as delicious, but not crème brûlée. This is a recipe that calls for some patience and love, and one that needs a few turns of practice until you call making a crème brûlée an easy feat! Recipe Serves 4 mini ramekins Recipe Ingredients 3 egg yolks¼ cup castor sugar + extra for top½ cup cream½ inch vanilla pod, slit in halfpinch of salt Recipe Instructions Preheat the oven at 150C and have 4 mini ramekins ready along with a large baking dish to act as bain marieHave lukewarm water ready in the kettleGently warm the cream with vanilla pod and salt, stirring and never allowing to come to boil. The time should not exceed 5 minutesSet asideIn a mixing bowl, cream the egg yolks and sugar gently – careful not to add in too much air and do not lift up the whisk, keeping the bottom of the whisk on the bottom of the bowlOnce the mixture has combined well, slowly add in the cream mixtureCombine well, careful not to whisk into much air and pour the mixture into the four ramekinsCarefully place the ramekins into a baking dish with warm waterTransfer to the oven and bake for 40 minutesRemove from the oven and place on the counter top on a cooling rack and allow the ramekins to cool completely within the bain marie – this should take around another 30-40 minutesThen cover each with cling film and refrigerate for 4-6 hours before serving.When ready to serve sprinkle 1/2 to 1 tsp castor sugar on top and use a blow torch to melt the sugarServe