Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and place rack in the middle of the oven.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar. Use a whisk to beat together until the mixture becomes pale in color, about 1 minute. Set aside.
3. Place the heavy cream in saucepan over medium heat and cook until it’s hot, but not boiling. Remove the cream from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt.
4. Temper the egg yolks. Use a measuring cup to scoop out about ½ cup of the hot heavy cream. Whisking the egg yolks constantly, slowly stream the cream into the egg yolks. Congratulations! You just tempered egg yolks.
5. Continuing to whisk the egg yolk mixture, slowly stream in the remaining hot cream. Whisk until completely combined.
6. Pour the mixture into five 6-ounce ramekins (or 8 4-ounce ramekins) and place the ramekins into a baking pan (any pan size works as long as it’s bigger and taller than your ramekin). Create a water bath for the crème brûlée by placing boiling water into the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
7. Bake the creme brûlées until the center is just set and the custard jiggles slightly but does not feel soupy, 45 to 55 minutes. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely before transferring to the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days (if chilling for more than a few hours, cover the tops of your ramekins tightly in plastic wrap).
8. When ready to serve, sprinkle the top of each custard with about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Use a kitchen torch* to melt the sugar by zigzagging back and forth until it bubbles and becomes golden brown in some parts. Let the sugar set and cool completely, crack, and dive in.