I have a friend who says that one judges a good butcher in this country by the quality of the boerewors he makes and there is a lot of truth in that. And when it comes to desserts I tend to judge a restaurant by the quality of its creme brulee.

It's not one of the most difficult desserts to make, but not many eateries get it just right.

Today's recipe was created by Bruce Robertson when he was executive chef at the classy Cape Grace hotel in Cape Town's waterfront and it is one of the simplest, tastiest and best I've come across.

The two basics of a good creme brulee are a creamy texture and a crusty, lightly crunchy topping, and yet so many kitchens just can't get it right.

Robertson's recipe is simple, delicious, virtually fail-proof and a perfect way of rounding off a good meal.

For this recipe you need:

Ingredients:

• 330ml cream


• 5 egg yolks


• 50g sugar


• 65ml Cape Velvet Cream (use the flavour of your choice, but I always opt for the English Toffee)

Instructions:

Heat the cream over moderate heat to just below boiling and remove from heat.

In another bowl whisk together the yolks, sugar and Cape Velvet Cream until the sugar has dissolved.

Pour the warm cream over the mixture and quickly stir together so as not to cook the egg.

Gently pour the mixture into six individual moulds and place in a bain-marie of water and bake at 120?C for 25 minutes.

Remove and chill.

Directly before serving lightly and evenly sprinkle brown sugar on top and lightly glaze under the grill or use a flame torch.