Pour the milk into a medium size pan and warm slowly over medium low heat.
Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the milk and add the beans to the pot.
Allow the milk and the vanilla bean to simmer while preparing the rest of the ingredients until you see bubbles forming around the edge of the pot.
Occasionally stir with a whisk to allow more of the vanilla seeds to come loose from the bean pod and to keep the milk from burning on the bottom of the pan.
Measure and mix the sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk well to mix.
Separate the egg yolks and whites.
Place the yolks into a small bowl and beat with a fork.
Place the whites into a medium bowl, beat with a hand mixer until stiff and set aside.
Pour the milk and vanilla bean into a metal bowl.
Cook the custard using a double boiler by pouring the milk and vanilla bean into a metal bowl. Place the metal bowl so it nestles into a pot of lightly boiling water. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl containing the custard is not sitting directly on top of the boiling water.
Cook and whisk occasionally until the mixture thickens to an almost pudding like consistency, about 10 minutes.
Place a lid on top of the bowl and allow to cook another 5 to 8 minutes whisking occasionally.
Remove the vanilla beans. Rinse them off and use them to make vanilla sugar by placing them into a container with one cup of sugar.
Temper the egg yolks into the custard mixture by adding a half a ladle full of the hot custard into the bowl of the eggs yolks while whisking. Then add another half of ladle and whisk. Pour the tempered egg yolk into the pot of hot custard and whisk until completely incorporated. You should not see any yellow from the eggs yolk.
Cook for 5 minutes while whisking.
Remove the bowl from the heat and place on counter.
Fold the stiffly beaten eggs whites into the hot custard until evenly incorporated.
Ladle into individual ramekins. Place the filled ramekins on a cookie sheet for stability and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 3 hours or over night.
Strawberry Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a small pot.
Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook until thick.
Chill before serving.
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This recipe was adapted from The Lily Wallace New American Cook Book Circa 1946