Crème Brûlée

Heat the cream

Place a heavy saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat. Add the cream and vanilla bean seeds. Whisk gently to break up the vanilla seeds. When the cream begins to bubble and steam, remove saucepan from the heat and allow the cream to cool for at least 5 minutes. Do not boil cream.

Beat the eggs

Combine the egg yolks, 4 tbsp sugar and pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk for approximately 5 minutes. Egg yolks will turn pale yellow. Add the warm cream to the egg yolks and gently mix to combine. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a bowl that will pour easily into the ramekins.

Prepare the ramekins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil 2 quarts of water on the stove. Place a kitchen towel on the bottom of a deep baking pan. Place four ramekins on top of the towel inside the pan. Pour the custard mixture evenly into all four ramekins. Fill the baking pan with the boiling water until about 3/4 of the outside of the ramekins are covered. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove ramekins from the oven, then remove them from the baking pan. Allow the crème brûlée to cool for 1 hour. Cover each crème brûlée with foil and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hour.

Serving

When you are ready to serve your crème brûlée, add 1/2 tbsp of raw or cane sugar evenly to the top of each ramekin of crème brûlée. Caramelize the sugar using a baking torch. Garnish each crème brûlée with some raspberries and a sprig of mint. Serve.