Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Heat enough water to fill your baking dish (or roasting pan) about one-third full of the water. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Pour the cream into a saucepan.
3 cups heavy cream
Use about 1 inch of the vanilla bean, and cut down the middle. Scrape the insides out and add to the cream, along with the skin of the bean. Or, add the vanilla extract.
1 whole vanilla bean
Heat the cream until just comes to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and let rest for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, vigorously whisk the egg yolks and the sugar until they are pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
6 egg yolks, ⅔ cup sugar
Carefully pour about half of the warm cream into the eggs, whisking constantly. Once fully incorporated, add the remaining cream, still whisking.
Place 6 ramekins into a baking dish or a roasting pan. Pour the egg/cream mixture through a fine mesh sieve into each ramekin. Carefully pour the hot water into the pan, adding just enough to go up about one-third of the ramekins.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until just set. The custard will still be jiggly, but not runny. Let cool in the water bath for about 20 minutes and then remove each ramekin from the pan and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. (if chilling for more than 4 hours, cover with plastic wrap).
After the custard is fully set (only slightly jiggly), sprinkle about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fine sugar over each ramekin of custard.
5 tbsp extra fine sugar
Use a kitchen torch to quickly (carefully) brown the sugar. They should turn amber in color, but not too dark. (You want to brown the sugar, but not burn it) Give the sugar a minute or two to slightly cool and harden. Then, serve immediately.