For the love of dairy

Considering my absolute love of cream, milk, butter and anything full-fat dairy, I was dismayed when my worst fears were confirmed - my boyfriend is lactose intolerant. This news came to us gradually as he loves milk and his coffees so much that he was adamant that it couldn't possibly be the milk that was giving him gut-wrenching tummy aches.

Also, I secretly think that he felt it was almost a blow to his masculinity - he was incredibly embarrassed about asking for soy milk when we went out to cafes. It wasn't until we were at a dinner party once and two other men announced they were bypassing the icecream because of lactose intolerance, that he finally 'came out of the closet' and reluctantly agreed to go soy.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend constantly complained that soy milk was making his coffee taste awful. Thank goodness we've found Zymil milk, which contains the enzyme lactase, and tastes like ordinary milk. The only problem is - I adore cooking with cream and there are no lactose-free versions. Please, please Zymil - start producing cream products as well! I'm normally good with trying to keep cream out of recipes - but when I read this recipe, I couldn't resist despite the large quantity of cream.

• Creme Brulee from The Really Useful Cookbook by David Herbert
  

The offending ingredients! 250ml full fat milk, 500ml cream and a split and scraped vanilla bean into a saucepan.

Heated until close to boiling point, then allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Whisk together 8 egg yolks and 150g caster sugar. I saw on Poh's Kitchen recently that you can't leave caster sugar sitting on egg yolks for too long or it will cook them, so best to get beating.

The mixture becomes gorgeously pale and fluffy.

Pour in the warm milk and cream mixture and combine well.

David Herbert's tip is to ensure the depth of custard is a maximum of 3cm to allow for the perfect texture. This souffle ramekins are probably not the best vessel to use, but they were the only appropriate oven-safe ones I have.

The ramekins are filled, then placed into an oven tray and hot water is poured into the tray until it is 2/3 up the side of the ramekins.

After baking at 150 degrees celsius for 25-30 minutes, allow to cool and refrigerate for a minimum for 4 hours or up to 2 days. Sprinkle with caster sugar and use a blow torch to caramelise the top before serving. I just popped them under a strong, hot grill for a few minutes after sprinkling the sugar and this did the job perfectly.

I am so in love with this recipe! My boyfriend had two on two separate days (and hence suffered horribly with stomach cramps) just because he couldn't help himself - they really are that fabulous. If that's not enough to convince you how amazing this brulee is, then nothing will. The custard texture is so supple, soft and silky and just humming with a warm, vanilla aroma. An easy recipe and one that I'm sure I'll be repeating time and time again.