The vanilla pod is split lengthwise.

The vanilla seeds are scraped out onto the cutting board with a paring knife.

The seeds are separated by pressing some sugar into them with the flat side of the knife against the cutting board. The knife is "rolled" a bit over the seeds to separate them. The vanilla sugar is now thoroughly mixed with the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl. The heavy cream is poured into a pot and placed on the stove. The scraped vanilla pod is also added to the pot.

Heavy cream with vanilla pod is heated to 90 °C.

Then, the pot is removed from the stove.

Four small ramekin bowls are placed in the freezer to get well-chilled. My bowls are Ø 9 centimeters.

The still-warm heavy cream is gradually added to the egg mixture while whisking. This will slightly thicken the yolks.

The warm cream is now poured back into the pot.

The pot is placed on the stove over medium heat.

Let the cream heat up to exactly 80 °C, whisking constantly.

Then, remove the pot from the stove and let it cool for 30 minutes. You can simply let it sit on a trivet on the kitchen counter, for example.

The now ice-cold ramekin bowls are taken out of the freezer and placed on the kitchen counter while the pot/cream cools. A little foam will form on top of the cream, which should be removed after 30 minutes.

The oven is preheated to 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit) conventional top/bottom heat.

The top layer of foam is removed with a tablespoon from the cooled cream. The cream is gently stirred so that the vanilla seeds are well distributed in the cream. The cream is then divided into the cold ramekin bowls.

The ramekin bowls are placed on a baking sheet with enough space between them. The baking sheet is placed in the preheated oven.

The bowls with the cream are baked for about 45 minutes or until the cream has set. You can check the cream by giving it a slight press on the surface - it should give a little.

The baking sheet is then taken out of the oven, and the bowls are placed in the refrigerator until they are completely cooled.

The sugar is sprinkled over each bowl when they are completely cold. The sugar layer should cover the surface of the cream but be very thin.

Each bowl is caramelized with a creme brulee torch/gas torch and then set to cool so the sugar hardens before serving.

Bon appétit.