Spanish
Crema Catalana
Catalan milk custard infused with lemon and cinnamon and finished with a thin, freshly burned sugar crust.
8 servings · 25 minutes prep · 18 minutes cook
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk, divided
- Peel of 1 lemon, removed in wide strips with no white pith
- 1 4-inch cinnamon stick
- 8 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/3 cup superfine sugar, for caramelizing
Directions
Infuse the Milk and Mix the Yolks
- Combine 3 1/2 cups milk, the lemon peel, and cinnamon in a heavy saucepan. Bring just to steaming over medium heat, remove from the heat, cover, and infuse for 20 minutes.
- Whisk the yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup cold milk until completely smooth but not foamy. Reheat the infused milk until steaming, then strain it gradually into the yolk mixture while whisking.
Cook and Chill the Custard
- Return everything to the clean saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a flat-edged wooden spoon and scraping every corner, until the custard thickens and the first slow bubbles break the surface, 6 to 9 minutes. Cook 30 seconds more; the temperature should reach 180°F to 185°F without boiling vigorously.
- Immediately strain the custard into eight shallow 5-ounce earthenware dishes. Tap each gently to level the surface. Cool for 20 minutes, cover without touching the custard, and refrigerate until thoroughly cold and set, at least 4 hours.
Burn the Sugar and Serve
- Just before serving, blot away any surface condensation. Sprinkle each custard evenly with 2 teaspoons superfine sugar. Caramelize with a kitchen torch held close enough to melt the sugar quickly without warming the custard, stopping at a mottled deep amber.
- Let the caramel harden for 2 minutes, then serve immediately so the top remains brittle and audibly crisp over the cold, soft custard.
