COCONUT CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• In a heavy saucepan heat cream, milk, and vanilla bean over moderately high heat until mixture just comes to a boil and remove from heat. Steep vanilla bean 10 minutes and with a knife scrape seeds into milk mixture, reserving pod for another use. In a bowl whisk together yolks, whole egg, and granulated sugar until combined well and add milk mixture in a stream, whisking. Skim off any froth.
• Divide coconut and custard among eight 1/2-cup flameproof ramekins set in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake custards in middle of oven until they are just set but still tremble slightly, about 40 minutes. Remove ramekins from pan and cool custards. Chill custards, covered loosely with plastic wrap, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Set broiler rack so that custards will be 2 to 3 inches from heat and preheat broiler.
• Sift brown sugar evenly over custards and broil custards until sugar is melted and caramelized, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, raw sugar may be sprinkled over custards and caramelized with a blowtorch.) Chill custards 20 minutes.