🛒 Ingredients
- 500ml whole milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 100g sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Lemon peel
- Cornstarch
- Sugar for caramelizing
👨🍳 Step-by-step instructions
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Bring the milk to a boil with lemon peel, cinnamon stick, and vanilla. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes.
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Whisk the egg yolks with sugar until pale. Add cornstarch and mix well.
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Strain the infused milk and gradually add it to the yolk mixture, stirring constantly.
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Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat, stirring continuously until thickened.
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Pour into individual earthenware ramekins. Let cool to room temperature.
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Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until thoroughly chilled and set.
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Just before serving, sprinkle with granulated sugar and caramelize with a blowtorch.
💡 Chef's tip
The sugar layer should be thin and even. Use a blowtorch in circular motions about 5cm away. Burnt too deep it turns bitter; lightly golden it cracks perfectly.
📝 Our take
Crema catalana is the older sibling of crème brûlée, though Catalans have spent centuries arguing it was the other way round. The real difference is whole milk versus cream, and the obligatory cinnamon and lemon. The burnt sugar layer needs to be thin and even to crack without turning bitter. A blowtorch works better than the traditional iron.
🍷 Wine & food pairing
Valencian Moscatel de Alejandría or a Brut Nature Cava as a digestif. The cream's acidity and the burnt sugar want something sweet but not cloying.
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