The classic from Catalonia

The classic from Catalonia

Today we are making the absolute classic among Spanish desserts, crema catalana. As the name suggests, crema catalana comes from Catalonia on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

It used to be prepared mainly on the feast day of San Jose. Nowadays, it is available all year round and is known and loved throughout Spain and beyond.

Crema Catalana is a light cream made from egg yolks and milk. Here in Spain, it is offered as a dessert on the menu in almost all restaurants.

Ingredients

1 litre milk
7-8 egg yolks
150 g sugar
25 g cornflour
1 lemon zest
1 cinnamon stick

Info

People: 4
Preparation: approx. 30 minutes
+ 3 hours cooling time
Difficulty level: easy

The preparation

Step 1:

Take about half a cup of milk, add the cornflour and stir well.

Step 2:

Then put the egg yolks, sugar and milk with the cornflour in a bowl and stir well until the sugar has dissolved.

Step 3:

Next, pour the remaining milk into a saucepan with the lemon zest and cinnamon, bring to the boil briefly, remove from the heat and leave to stand for approx. 5 minutes. Then remove the lemon zest and cinnamon from the milk and return the saucepan to the heat. Add the egg mixture and simmer briefly over a low heat, stirring constantly. The cream should have a creamy consistency.

Step 4:

Remove from the heat. Pour the cream into small bowls and leave to cool at room temperature.

Step 5:

When the cream has cooled, sprinkle sugar over it and caramelise with a small gas burner (available from household goods stores). Done!

Place in the fridge for another 1-2 hours and then serve.