Preheat oven to 300 F. Set 6 ramekins in pan.

Make the caramel: place 2/3 cup of sugar in a small saucier with 1 of the tablespoons of water. Heat on medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, but dont stir. The syrup will boil for a while until it starts to turn brown. Remove it from the heat. Stand back and add the remaining tablespoon of water, stirring. Immediately pour the caramel into 6 ramekins. DONT CLEAN PAN. (The water at the end is a hint from Americas Test Kitchen to ensure the caramel doesnt set up so hard that it wont come out when unmolded.)

Make the custard: In the same saucepan, heat milk with 1/2 cup sugar just until it reaches a boil. Meanwhile, in pourable bowl, whisk eggs for a minute or two. Add vanilla. Whisk in hot milk, slowly at first to temper the eggs. Whisk to completely mix.

Pour milk mixture into ramekins in the pan on top of the caramel. Set on oven rack. Fill with warm (not boiling) water to about 2/3 the height of the ramekins. Cover loosely with foil

Slide oven rack in carefully. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour at 300 F. Water should not boil during baking. The custard is done when it has set, which you can verify by inserting a knife.

Carefully take ramekins out of pan and allow the custard to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate in their ramekins until serving time. The longer they set in fridge the more likely the caramel will melt better.

To serve, run a knife along the outside of each creme, than turn over onto a dessert plate.