As a nation, we eat nearly 10 billion eggs a year; that's 26 million every day. If placed end to end, the line of eggs would reach from the earth to the moon. Hampshire Chronicle cookery expert, Venika Kingsland, serves up a special dish for National Egg Month.

Ingredients

500 ml double cream

5 large egg yolks

4 oz caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

4 tbsp light Demerara sugar

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Heat the cream until it comes to the boil.

2 Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla essence until creamy. Slowly add to the cream and pass through a sieve.

3 Pour into ramekins or fireproof custard cups. Place in a shallow baking dish filled with water that comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 25 minutes or until set around the sides but still soft in the centre.

4 Remove from the oven and cool before chilling in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

5 Before serving, sprinkle one and a half teaspoons of sugar over each ramekin. Place under a hot grill until the sugar caramelises. Chill the custard for a few minutes before serving.

Venika Kingsland