Blackberry crème brûlée

Pre-heat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Put 4 or 5 blackberries each in the bottom of 4 ramekin dishes. Put the cream in a pan. Cut the vanilla pod lengthways and add to the cream. Heat until almost simmering. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Remove the pod.

Boil a kettle of water. Whisk the yolks and sugar in a a bowl until creamy. Pour on the cream in a thin stream, whisking gently. Transfer to a jug,then pour into the ramekin dishes, leaving enough space for the caramel topping.

Put the dishes in a roasting tin and pour in boiling water to halfway up their sides, making sure no water gets in them. Cover three-quarters of the tin with foil to stop them browning and allow steam to escape. Bake for 1 hour or until just set.

Remove the dishes and leave until cold. Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

For the caramel, put 125g sugar in a small pan with 3 tbsp water. Heat very gently, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Then boil steadily until it turns into a rich, brown caramel. You mustn't stir, but you can gently tilt the pan to help it caramelise evenly. Immediately, carefully pour the caramel over the back of a metal spoon on to the custards. Chill for 15 minutes.