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1
Preheat oven to 300 F. Bring a kettle of water to boil.
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2
Put the milk and cream into a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds from half of it into the milk and cream. Scald the mixture (heat it just to right before it boils) over medium heat.
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3
While it's heating, whisk remaining ingredients together in a large heat-proof bowl. Slowly add the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Then strain the mixture into another bowl through a fine strainer.
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4
Cool the mixture and pour into ramekins. Place ramekins in a baking dish, cover the dish part way with foil, place on your oven rack in the oven and leave oven door open. You're not baking them yet, but putting the pan in the oven before filling it with water will help prevent any swishing of water into the custards, making them soggy.
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5
Pour the boiling water into the baking dish until water comes half-way up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the open portion of the dish with foil and bake for about 45 minutes. When done, the custards can be gently shaken and will be set around the edges but remain slightly underdone in the center (will move like Jello).
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6
Cool completely in fridge.
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7
Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of sugar over tops of each custard. Using a torch or broiler caramelize the sugar until it forms a shell over the custard.
