Method

• 1.
  Chill the pots in the freezer. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and place in a saucepan with the cream. Bring to the boil. Turn off heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
• 2.
  Whisk egg yolks and vanilla sugar in a bowl and pour in the cream. Clean the saucepan then strain the mixture through a fine sieve back into the pan. Cook over very low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Pour into the chilled pots, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
• 3.
  Place caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan over low heat and stir to dissolve sugar. Increase heat to medium and cook until the mixture is a rich golden colour. Immediately remove it from heat and place base of saucepan in a bowl of cold water. Leave for 2 minutes to cool slightly.
• 4.
  Wipe the bottom to remove any water that may drip on the creams, then pour the caramel over the creams, swirling pots to distribute caramel evenly.
• 5.
  Refrigerate the caramel pots for 10 minutes to harden.