French Crème Brûlée with Vanilla Bean

Preheat your oven to 150°C (130°C for convection ovens). Prepare 4 heatproof ramekins and a larger baking dish that can hold them. Boil water for the water bath.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. In a saucepan, gently heat the heavy cream with the vanilla seeds and pod, along with a pinch of salt. Do not boil, just heat until it starts to steam. Remove from heat and let it steep for 10-15 minutes to infuse the flavors. Then, remove the vanilla pod.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 100g of granulated sugar until light and creamy. Slowly pour the warm vanilla cream into the egg yolk mixture while continuously whisking. Be careful not to scramble the eggs. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve to ensure it's perfectly smooth.

Divide the custard evenly among the ramekins. Place the ramekins in the larger baking dish, then carefully pour hot water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the edges are set but the center still jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven, carefully lift the ramekins out of the water bath, and let them cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate the cooled Crème Brûlées for at least 2-4 hours, or ideally overnight. Before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar evenly over each custard. Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar until it's golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately!