Earl Grey Creme Brulee

1. Preheat your oven to 325 F.

2. Set your vanilla bean on a cutting board. Slice your vanilla bean lengthwise with the tip of a very sharp knife, just deep enough to puncture the top exterior (not all the way through to the cutting board). Turn your knife over, and using the flat back edge scrape the vanilla bean from top to bottom lengthwise to pull out all of that delicious caviar.

3. Combine the vanilla caviar, cream and tea bags in a heavy saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

4. Heat a few cups of water to a near-boil either on the stove or in the microwave.

5. In a medium sized bowl (or preferably in the bowl of your stand mixer) whip together the egg yolks and sugar until they become thick and pale yellow in color. This is best done using a stand mixer so you have an extra hand for the next step.

6. Once the tea has steeped in the cream for ten minutes, remove the tea bags and discard them.

7. Very, very slowly drizzle ½ cup of warm cream into the egg yolks with the mixer beating the yolks on medium-low speed. Once that first ½ cup is added you can add the rest of the cream slowly. Mix until combined.

8. Grab a rimmed baking sheet and place four crème brûlée ramekins on it. Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins.

9. Place the baking sheet in the pre-heated oven and pour the near boiling water into the bottom of the sheet pan until it reaches half way up the sides of the dishes.

10. Bake for 30 minutes or until set. The custard will be quite wobbly and will jiggle from side to side when nudged. It should not be liquid in the center.

11. Remove the ramekins from the pan (do not try to take the whole pan out with the extremely hot water sloshing from side to side). I’ve found that the best way for me to remove the ramekins is to use a stiff pancake turner. Cool ramekins on a cooling rack until cool enough to touch.

12. Cover ramekins with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours.

13. When you are ready to serve the crème brûlée, take the ramekins out of the fridge, uncover them and sprinkle a fine layer of sugar over their tops. You want to get an even layer of sugar over the whole surface, so you may need to tilt, wiggle and shake the dish to get the sugar to spread out. Tap out any excess sugar. Ignite a culinary torch and hold it near the ramekin so the flame is parallel to the surface of the custard. You want the heat from the flame to be very close to the sugar so it caramelizes, but not directly in contact with it or it will burn. Move the torch around the surface of the custard in a slow, even motion so as not to burn the sugar. Caramelize the surface of all four crème brûlées. Serve immediately.