In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the milk, the egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and the corn starch. Whisk until well blended.

In a small sauce pan, heat the remaining 2 cups of milk with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the scraped vanilla seeds with the pod.  Heat to a simmer then remove the pod and discard.

While whisking, slowly drizzle the hot milk into the bowl with the egg and sugar mixture, making sure to whisk continually.

Pour the entire custard mixture back into the pan and heat just until it thickens up, which should be very quickly.

Reduce to low heat, add the softened cream cheese and beat with the whisk while cooking for about one minute to form a thick creamy custard.

Pour into a large serving bowl (or individual ramekins). Cover with plastic wrap, pushing down on the plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the custard (this will prevent a skin from forming on the top.) Refrigerate and cool completely before serving.

Spoon into individual serving dishes once chilled. Or, as we show in our photos, place the chilled and thickened custard into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe into individual serving dishes or martini glasses.  Garnish with fresh strawberries if desired.