Serves 4
Bring the cream to the boil, remove from the heat and add the thyme and lemon zest.
Leave to infuse for 15 minutes (or continue to simmer gently if you're in a hurry).
Preheat the oven to 160°C (350°F).
Beat together the egg yolks and sugar then beat in the strained cream. Add a few choice thyme leaves and lemon granules. Pour the mixture into 4 ramekins, place them in an oven tray, surround them with an inch of boiling water and bake for 45 minutes.
Leave to cool Some suggest refrigerating overnight. Just before serving, sprinkle with sugar and grill until the sugar caramelises.
Serve.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Prepare a baking tray with 2" boiling water
Whisk the egg yolks with the demarara sugar (if using). Warm the cream with the vanilla pod. Dissolve the (lumpy) ginger sugar in the grand marnier, then heat these up with the cream and pumpkin purée. Grate in the nutmeg. Beat into the egg yolks. Scatter the julienned crystallized ginger into the bottom of the ramekins, fill them with the custard mix, place in the oven for around 45 minutes (check after 30) until just set (move when tipped but slightly wobbly in the centre). Refrigerate

Top with a thin layer of cinnamon sugar and caramelize.

This is not a hard recipe, but it needs to be watched, and the heat regulated carefully, so that all goes Slowly, and that the cooking is stopped at the proper time. I took these notes this evening from a batch I just finished, hope it can be understood

For this recipe, buy about 10 ounces of ginger, which will give you about 6 ounces of cleaned and sliced ginger root. Once you have learned the basics, this recipe can be multiplied to almost any quantity.

First, carefully peel off the outside brown skin of the root. Remove the secondary knobs, freeze them for something else. Cut out any discolored or dried out spots. Cut the root into 2 inch lengths and slice lengthwise into 1/8th inch slices. Punch holes in the slices with a needle or fork, sort of like you would tenderize a steak. Toss the slices in a bowl with
2 Cups raw cane sugar.
Add 1 Tbl of water to a 6 or 8 inch iron frying pan or a heavy wok, pour in the ginger and sugar, and bring very slowly up to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally for an hour. Lower the heat to a minimum and let very slowly simmer, stirring occasionally and separating the slices, until the syrup starts to get thick and crystallize. There will be a rim of sugar that crystallizes out around the edge of the pan, and the mixture will become quite thick and syrupy, and will have a lot of sugar crystals in it. Soon the mixture will bubble slowly all over the surface, and when gently stirred will crystallize more and more. (This last phase only takes a few minutes, so watch carefully toward the end. If it carmelizes, it is junk.) Soon the syrup is mostly crystals, and the whole mass will start coming together when stirred. When you can make a pile of it in the middle of the pan, and very little syrup drains out, take it off the heat, and toss gently while it cools. Make sure the slices remain separated. If done right, the crystallized ginger slices will separate from the sugar at this point. Spread it all out on a tray to cool and dry, then store airtight somewhere dark and cool. Use the sugar in coffee, cookies, or anywhere else that a fresh, clean ginger accent would be nice.

Roast the pumpkin as follows:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 Slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds (and stringy flesh). Clean the seeds off (even wash them) and put them in a roasting tin with a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of salt. Put the pumpkin halves cut-side down on another roasting tin. Bake the pumpkin until soft and ready to separate from the skin. Bake the seeds until browned and crispy. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and purée.

To make the praline top, put the sugar in a small saucepan with a few drops of water and simmer until it darkens to caramel. Lightly butter a metal or marble surface. Pour out the caramel onto the surface and let it cool and harden before you break it off and smash it with a meat mallet or pulse it in a blender until it is in crumbs.

Preheat the grill to very hot. Take the custards from the fridge at the last minute and sprinkle about a tablespoon of praline over each one. Spread it thinly over the whole surface with the back of a spoon. Put the custards on a rack as close as possible to the grill until the praline has melted - the custard should still be cold on the inside and the sugar crisp on the top. Serve absolutely immediately.

Heat the cream and vanilla pod together until it reaches boiling point, pull to the side and leave to infuse. Whisk the sugar and yolks over a bain marie until it becomes thick — this should take 5-6 minutes. Bring the cream back to the boil and add the Grand Marnier to taste. Pour one third of the cream into the egg and mix quickly. Pour egg mix back into cream and mix until it begins to thicken slightly. Discard the vanilla pod and pour into the ramekins. The mix will take at least 5-6 hours to set. Sprinkle the brûlées with brown sugar and caramelise to a nice dark brown colour under a hot grill.

Have ready the dried strawberries and jus de fraises, if using.

Peel away the stringy, coarse ribs of the rhubarb then cut the stalks first into 4cm/1½" lengths, then into bâtons. Heat the butter and honey in a large frying pan until bubbling, then add the rhubarb in a single layer and roast gently for about 5 minutes, turning carefully, until softened but still whole.
Drain in a sieve then spread out on clean paper or towel to absorb excess moisture. Change the towel twice more. It is important to drain the rhubarb thoroughly so that it doesn't rise during baking.

Meanwhile, line the base of six ramekins with discs of greadeproof paper. When the rhubarb is quite dry, divide between the dishes, spreading the pieces neatly over the bases. Arrange the ramekins on a baking sheet.

Slit the vanilla pods, scrape out the seeds and mix with the cream. Put the cream, milk and empty pods into a large saucepan and bring slowly to the boil.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the yolks and caster sugar with a whisk until smooth and a paler shade of yellow. Preheat the oven to 120°C/225°F/Gas Mark Low.

When the cream mixture starts to boil and rise, pour it, in stages, onto the yolks, whisking continuously. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug and discard the vanilla pods.

Pour a little of the custard over the rhubarb in the ramekins and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until the mixture has set enough to hold the rhubarb in place. Pour in the remaining custard and cook for a further 45-60 minutes or until lightly set. The custard is ready when, if tipped, it comes away slowly from the sides of the mould and is slightly wobbly in the centre. Cool, then chill until quite firm. To unmould, run a table knife around the edge of each ramekin and invert onto a plate. Remove the paper discs.

Sprinkle the custards with demarara sugar, then caramelize, either with a blowtorch, or by placing under a hot grill. Tuck the dried strawberries just beneath the top of each brûlée and spoon around the jus de fraises.

Heat the oven to 140°C/gas mark 1. Stand four ramekins or similar ovenproof dishes (200ml capacity) in a baking tin.

Melt the butter in a wide frying pan. Add the rhubarb, honey and seeds from the vanilla pod.

Cook over a high heat, tossing occasionally, for 5-6 minutes until the rhubarb is soft and the juices and honey have caramelised. Spoon into the ramekins.

Slowly heat the cream and milk together in a saucepan to just below the boil. Add slit vanilla pods if you prefer not to use essence. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl until evenly blended. Trickle the hot, creamy milk onto the egg mixture, beating constantly, until well combined. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a large jug. Skim off any froth from the surface, then pour into the ramekins.

Pour warm water into the baking tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until the custards are lightly set. To test, gently shake a ramekin — the custard should still be a little wobbly in the centre. Remove the ramekins from the tin and allow to cool completely, then chill until ready to serve. For the topping, sprinkle 1-2 tsp sugar evenly on top of each custard, then wave a cook's blowtorch over the surface to caramelise. Serve at once.