Floating island (poached meringue on French custard with caramel sauce)

In a saucepan over medium to high heat, slowly bring the milk to the boil with the scraped vanilla seeds and the pod; turn off before it boils over.

Separate the eggs, reserving the whites.

Mix the four yolks with 100 g sugar straight away, so the sugar does not burn the yolks; whisk until blanched from yellow to a creamy white.

When the milk has cooled enough to touch, strain a little into the yolks and incorporate gently, then strain in the rest, discarding the pod.

Strain into a clean pan and cook over medium to fairly high heat, stirring constantly and never letting it boil, until it coats the back of a spoon and a finger leaves a clean line; lower the heat near the end.

Cool the custard and refrigerate.

Beat the four egg whites with a pinch of salt in a machine until they gain some consistency; add 50 g sugar and beat until very stiff and they stay in an upturned spoon.

Shape egg-shaped meringues with an ice cream scoop and cook them on water one minute on each side.

Drain on kitchen paper to remove excess water.

Toast almonds in a pan until coloured; turn off before they get too brown.

Boil 100 g white sugar with about a quarter cup of water on high heat until a brown caramel; stop the cooking by setting the pan in cold water, since it keeps cooking off the heat.

Home version: pour custard into a dish, add one or two meringues and drizzle caramel over without overdoing it.

Fine dining version: a portion of custard in a cocktail glass, one meringue, a generous drizzle of caramel, and a few toasted almonds sprinkled on to stick.