Soft boiled egg, vanilla caramel, crispy pain au chocolat

Place the caster sugar and a splash of water into a heavy-based pot and warm on a medium heat on the stove. Allow to turn a golden brown, caramel colour at which point, remove from the heat and carefully add 100g of water and the lemon juice – be careful and stand back, as it will spit

Mix well and place back on a medium heat, slowly bringing the mixture back up to a simmer, whisking continuously. Allow to simmer for 45 minutes to reduce the caramel to a syrup

Next, add the vanilla pod or essence and whisk well. Pour the mixture into a clean container and put to one side

Preheat the oven to 165°C

Slice each pain au chocolate into slices as thick as a £2 coin. Lay the slices onto an oven tray and liberally sprinkle with brown sugar

Bake for 6–8 minutes until golden and caramelised. Remove from the oven, place on a cooling rack and allow to cool. They will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, if not using straight away

Gently drop the eggs into a pan of cold water then place onto a medium heat. Allow the water to come up to a simmer. Once simmering, set a 30 second timer, and allow the eggs to cook. Once the timer has gone off, remove the eggs from the pan and rinse them under cold water for 30 seconds. This will stop the eggs from continuing to cook

When ready to serve, warm up the caramel and put each egg into an egg cup. Remove the top of the egg and arrange the caramelised pain au chocolate on the side of the plate

Place the boiled eggs on the side of a plate, arranging the caramelised pain au chocolat on the side and gently warm the caramel sauce. The sauce can be served in a pot with a spoon to be lavishly poured into the dippy egg before serving