Crema Catalana

Questions About Crema Catalana

The Method for Crema Catalana

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1. Heat 600 ml of the milk with the lemon and orange peel and the cinnamon stick until it just steams. Take it off the heat, cover, and leave 30 minutes to infuse.

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2. Whisk the yolks, sugar, cornflour and salt with the remaining 150 ml cold milk until completely smooth.

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3. Strain the infused milk into the yolk mixture, whisking as you pour.

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4. Return everything to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula and reaching into the corners, for 6 to 8 minutes.

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5. It will thicken suddenly and then bubble. Cook 1 minute more from that point, still stirring, then take it off the heat.

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6. Pour immediately through a sieve into six shallow earthenware dishes.

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7. Cool for no more than 2 hours, then refrigerate at least 4 hours until firmly set.

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8. Just before serving, blot the surface dry with kitchen paper and cover each with an even layer of caster sugar.

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9. Burn the sugar with a very hot iron or a blowtorch until it caramelises to a dark amber, and serve within a minute or two while the crust is still crisp and the custard cold.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Worth Getting Right

• Shallow dishes, not ramekins. The ratio of crust to custard is the point.
• Blot the surface before sugaring or the crust will not set.
• Burn it at the table. A crust made ten minutes early has already gone soft.

What to Serve With It

A glass of moscatel · Strong coffee · Crisp almond biscuits

Storage

Refrigerate the custard up to 3 days, uncaramelised, covered. Burn the sugar to order.

What's in a Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low. How the figures are worked out.