1/4 cup sugar
2 vanilla beans
6 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cinammon stick
2 T Turbinado sugar for crust (or more)
3 T white sugar for crust (or more)

 

Heat cream to a boil with cinammon stick then turn off heat.

Split and separate the vanilla seeds from beans into 1 cup of sugar. (Note: need 1/2 bean per person) Use fingers to blend sugar with vanilla grains . Add sugar mixture to egg yolks and whisk till mixture is smooth and cosistent.

Whisk in hot cream into yolk mixture slowly, constantly whisking. Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove all the coarse debris.

Add enough hot water to a roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the ramekins with foil and then bake the custards for about 35 minutes (325F), or until barely set. Remove from the oven. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, then refrigerate until well chilled. The custards can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. The custard should be cool when caramelizing the sugar.

Before serving remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and lightly pat dry with a paper towel if any moisture is present. Mix turbinado sugar with granular sugar. You can dry out the sugar further in the oven and mix in a food processor to get a finer consistency which will make melting quicker and more even (optional). Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the top of the custards. Shake the ramekins a bit to get an even layer of sugar. Using a hand blow torch heat the sugar until it starts to caramelize and bubble. Do not allow to burn. Let cool, then repeat for a second layer. Let cool a few minutes before serving for sugar to harden.