Crème Brûlée with Warm Cherries and Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Combine milk and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile cut vanilla bean lengthwise in half and scrape seeds out using a small knife. Place vanilla bean and its content into cream mixture and remove from heat when it reached a boil. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. If using vanilla extract add after mixture has cooled.
Combine sugars and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk rapidly until smooth and well combined. While whisking gradually add boiled mixture.
Set ramekins into a roasting pan. Pour crème brûlée mixture into ramekins. Pour water into roasting pan until it comes halfway up sides of ramekins.
Place in oven and bake until center of ramekins no longer tremble. About 50 to 70 minutes, time will depend on depth of ramekins used.
When cool enough to handle remove ramekins from roasting pan and place in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
Remove from refrigerator and cover surface of crème brûlée with a thin even coating of granulated sugar.
Torch surface using a blow torch to melt and consequently caramelize sugar.
Remove pits from cherries using a cherry/olive pitter, reserve some cherries with stem intact to be used for decoration.
Melt butter in a pan and add sugar. Add cherries and stir until thoroughly heated. Add liquor if using and swirl around.
Using a spoon arrange cherries on crème brûlée. Decorate with fresh cherries and if desired sprinkle with confectioners powdered sugar. Serve with warm chocolate sauce.