Cover the cookie sheet with foil. Put down one ramekin upside down and lightly outline it with a pen or pencil. Repeat three times more, so you have 4 circles. Brush the circles with oil, preferably with a brush or the back of a spoon if you don’t have a pastry brush.

Put the sugar and water in the small pot and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. You can stir the sugar to dissolve it in the water before the mixture boils, but once they gets near a boil – and for the duration – don’t stir the mixture. (Stirring would break up the bubbles and prevent caramelization.) Keeping a watchful eye on the mixture, let it boil for about 8-10 minutes until it turns golden yellow brown. Don’t let the caramel get too dark. That can happen quickly, resulting in a sticky mess that is inedible and difficult to clean. For cleaning tips, see notes below.

Once the sugar syrup turns golden, carefully and quickly pour half of the mixture onto the 4 circles and the other half into the ramekins. The circles will harden as they cool. Don’t be obsessive about getting the circles perfect – I couldn’t and the crispy caramel disc will sit on top of the ramekin even if it isn’t round. Safety note: hot caramel can burn you easily, so be careful. Also, the sugar syrup at the bottom of the ramekins will liquify as it cooks, so try to get it spread over the bottom, but do not be too obsessive about that either. If you feel the need to spread it out after it hardens on the bottom, heating the ramekins gently allows you to spread it a bit.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Dust the chopped ginger with the flour and set aside.

Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt in the medium bowl.

Heat the milk and cream until almost simmering, then add the chopped and floured pieces of ginger. If skin develops on top, just whisk the mixture vigorously until it breaks up.

Pour the heated milk and cream into the egg mixture, whisking all the while.

Place the ramekins in the larger pan and pour the mixture into the ramekins (which already have a thin layer of caramel on the bottom.) Put water in the pan until it is about halfway up the outer sides of the ramekins. Be careful not to let the water splash. I used a measuring cup, aiming the water into the corner of the pan, away from the ramekins.

Bake the custards for 45-50 minutes, until they are set but still slightly jiggly. Some may get slightly browned on top, which is fine as long as they do not get burned. If you prefer a pristine top, cover the custards for the first 20-25 minutes of baking with waxed paper topped with aluminum foil.

Once you take them out of the oven, cool the ramekins for 30 minutes in the water-filled pan, then refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.

Let the crème brûleé stand at room temperature for at about an hour before serving. Gently pry the caramel circles off the foil and place one on top of each ramekin, then enjoy. The tops will crack like shards of glass when you cut through them with a spoon. Although the edges may look sharp, the shards disintegrate as you eat them.