Crema Catalana
Crema Catalana is made with milk instead of cream, and often incorporates lemon peel and cinnamon. It’s also not made using a bain-marie (a water bath, or baño maría in Spanish), which means it’s easier to make than its French cousin. I guarantee you, it is to die for when made well! 😅🤤
Ingredients
- 500 ml Milk
- 1 lemon 1 orange
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Egg Yolks
- 90 g white sugar preferably caster
- 50 g cornstarch
Instructions
- Pour the milk into a small, heavy-based saucepan and set over medium heat. Add the citrus peels and cinnamon stick, then bring to a simmer and remove from the heat.
- While the milk is heating, dissolve the cornstarch in a splash of milk to make a slurry.
- Beat the egg yolks and sugar with a whisk until turns pale yellow, then beat in the cornstarch slurry.
- Remove the citrus peels and cinnamon stick from the hot milk, and slowly pour in the egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
- Turn the heat to low and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened to a pudding-like consistency.
- Remove from the heat and divide the mixture among ramekins or traditional clay dishes. Press a piece of plastic or papel wrap onto the surface of each custard to prevent a skin from forming.
- Chill the crema catalanas for about 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
- Once the custards have chilled, remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on top of each custard. Spread the sugar out by tilting the ramekins in all directions.
- Caramelize the sugar to the desired color with a small blowtorch. (For an authentic flair, use a hot iron for this step instead.) You can also place the ramekins on a baking tray on the top shelf of the oven and brown the sugar with the grill on the highest setting. Watch carefully, as they can burn in an instant!