Spanish recipe
How to make Crema catalana
Catalonia
A chilled custard flavoured with lemon peel and cinnamon, topped with a thin layer of sugar that is burnt until it forms a glassy crust.
Ingredients
- 500 ml whole milk
- Peel of 1 lemon (in wide strips, no white pith)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 egg yolks
- 100 g sugar, plus about 6 tablespoons for the topping
- 25 g cornflour
Method
- Heat the milk with the lemon peel and cinnamon until it almost boils, then take it off the heat and leave for 15 minutes.
- Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan until smooth.
- Remove the peel and cinnamon and pour the warm milk slowly into the yolks, whisking all the time.
- Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and just starts to bubble. It must be fully cooked and thick.
- Pour into 6 shallow dishes, cool, then chill for at least 4 hours.
- Just before serving, sprinkle each with a thin, even layer of sugar and caramelise it with a kitchen blowtorch or a hot iron until golden and crisp.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
It is traditionally eaten on 19 March, Saint Joseph's Day, which is why Catalans also call it crema de Sant Josep.
Take the trip to Spain
