Creme anglaise

Warm 250 ml of milk with the vanilla.

Beat two egg yolks with 50 g sugar until pale.

Transfer the warm milk to a glass container and add it to the yolks a little at a time. Do not let the milk be boiling hot; the aim is a sauce, not a thick cream.

Skim off as much foam as possible.

Return it to the pan on medium heat and stir constantly rather than whisking, so nothing sticks or curdles.

Use a food thermometer. Cook to 82 to 83C, the point at which the yolks are about to curdle; past that it becomes an omelette.

It is ready when it coats the pan and the spoon heavily and is no longer liquid.

Turn off and transfer it immediately to another container to stop the cooking, because pieces of egg start to coagulate.

Refrigerate at least four hours for the flavours to develop, ideally twelve. Do not go past that or the flavours dissipate.