The first time you split open a vanilla bean is special, as the amazing aroma hits you. For cooking, no substitute essence is as good as using the sticky black bean itself, which takes a lot of effort to produce.

It comes from the pod of a tropical orchid from Central America, discovered by European traders in the 16th century. The orchid flowers for less than a day and, in its natural habitat, is pollinated by native bees and birds. When grown commercially, each individual flower is pollinated by hand. Each pod takes four weeks to ripen. During curing, the mature pods are steamed then slowly dried to develop the vanilla flavour.

These recipes require some kitchen gadgets. A thermometer is important for the fudge - it must cool to 110 degrees before being beaten to create small sugar crystals which give the sweet its lovely smooth and creamy texture. To caramelise the creme catalan you need a blow torch available from most cookery equipment stores.

Creme catalana

250ml milk

750ml thickened cream

1 orange, rind peeled in strips

1 lemon, rind peeled in strips

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

2 cinnamon sticks

8 egg yolks

200g castor sugar plus 12 tbsp

1 tbsp anis liqueur, to drizzle

Preheat oven to 160C. In a heavy-based medium saucepan, add milk, cream, citrus rinds, scraped vanilla bean and cinnamon, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks and 200 grams of sugar gently until pale and thick. Strain warm cream into egg mixture slowly while gently whisking. Pour mixture back into a clean pot and return to a low heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon.

Place 6 x 200 millilitre shallow oven-proof dishes (terracotta are good) in two roasting trays. Divide mixture among dishes. Pour enough hot water into the trays to come halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake for 30 minutes until just set. When done, the custard should wobble slightly.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. To serve, sprinkle two tablespoons extra castor sugar evenly over the top of each custard.

Apply the heat of a kitchen blow torch, holding it at a 45-degree angle to the top of the custards until the sugar melts into toffee. Drizzle with a little anis liqueur and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Vanilla fudge

450g castor sugar

400g double cream

50g butter

1 tbsp glucose syrup

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Begin preparing this recipe the day before you intend serving it.

Line a 20 x 20-centimetre cake tin with baking paper. Put sugar, cream, butter and glucose syrup into a medium-to-large saucepan. Heat to dissolve sugar and melt butter, stirring now and then.

Once dissolved, insert a sugar thermometer, making sure the end is covered by the syrup. Increase heat and bring syrup to a steady boil. Keep bubbling, stirring occasionally to stop sugar from catching, until the mixture reaches 116C. Remove pan from heat and leave to sit, undisturbed, for five minutes, until the temperature drops to 110C.

Stir in vanilla seeds scraped from pod and a good pinch of salt. Beat mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until the temperature cools. By this time the fudge will be really thick and will have lost its glossy shine. Continue beating a few more minutes. Before it sets completely, quickly pour fudge into prepared tin and smooth the surface.

Leave to cool at room temperature overnight - don't put fudge in the fridge as it will become sticky and won't set properly. Cut into pieces about 4 centimetres square and put in an airtight container. The sweets will keep, in a sealed container, for up to two months.

Makes about 16 squares