Crema Catalana

Crema Catalana is the Spanish counterpart of Crème Brûlée: velvety smooth, delicately spiced, and topped with an irresistible caramelised sugar layer.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 15 min
Cooking: 15 min
Total time: 2 hours 15 min

Ingredients

• 800 ml milk
• 150 grams caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla pod
• Zest of half a lemon
• Zest of half an orange
• 1 tablespoon cornflour

Preparation

1. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds.
2. Peel the zest from half a lemon and half an orange (just the coloured part).

Cooking

1. Bring 700 ml of milk to a boil with the lemon and orange zest, cinnamon stick, vanilla seeds and pod.
2. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until smooth and fluffy.
3. Dissolve the cornflour in 100 ml milk (or a few spoonfuls from the pan) and add it to the egg mixture.
4. Remove the zests and sticks from the warm milk.
5. While whisking, slowly add the egg mixture to the milk and gently bring to a boil until it thickens. Remove immediately from the heat.
6. Pour the mixture into shallow dishes and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
7. Before serving: sprinkle with sugar and caramelise under a hot grill until golden brown.