Crema Catalana

This no bake Crema Catalana recipe is infused with citrus peels and cinnamon and finished off with a caramelized sugar topping for a delightful creamy dessert. The combination of zesty citrus and aromatic cinnamon infuses Crema Catalana with warm flavors for a lighter texture custard dessert.

Ingredients and substitutions for Crema Catalana

• Milk: Whole milk is recommended for making this as traditional as possible. If you prefer, a creamy dairy free milk would work, but would likely not have the same results. The weight of the milk in grams is 679.
• Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar is best here because of how easily it dissolves and ensures our mixture is smooth whilst adding sweetness without adding additional flavors to our custard. Raw sugar or light brown sugar are good substitutes, though the result might be a caramel flavor to the custard.
• Egg yolks: Adding structure and making our custard what it is, result in our rich and creamy custard.
• Corn starch: Sometimes termed cornflour in certain parts of the globe. Corn starch is what gives our custard that thick texture without being runny. It needs to be heated to 95C/203F before it is activated to thicken.
• Lemon and Orange peel: We only need a small piece of the citrus zest to give your custard hints of both flavors. You can omit one or both if you don't like the flavor, though they add depth to the dessert.
• Cinnamon stick: The cinnamon stick results in a soft flavor of cinnamon through our custard alongside the light citrus flavors so it’s best not to skip on adding this also. In other words, if you only have ground cinnamon, add ¼ teaspoon to the cornflour and whisk into your eggs to infuse with the same flavor.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Crema Catalana:

Step 1: Infused milk: Place the milk, lemon and orange zest and cinnamon into a saucepan on low heat.

Step 2: Whisk: The sugar and egg yolks in a bowl until smooth before tossing in the cornflour.

Step 3: Pour: A portion of the warm milk into the egg mixture whisking to combine before adding more milk in portions.

Step 4: Heat: Strain the peels and cinnamon out and pour into the saucepan. Heat and whisk until it leaves a heavy coating on the back of a spoon.

Step 5: Ramekins: Pour into your individual ramekins.

Step 6: Refrigerate: Cover and place in the fridge.

Step 7: Sprinkle and caramelize: Sprinkle sugar over the surface of the custard and caramelize under a hot grill or with a blowtorch.

Step 8: Serve: Tap to dig in! Enjoy!

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Crema Catalana

Sylvie Taylor

A light custard with hints of citrus and cinnamon is this Spanish dessert that is no bake. This Crema Catalana recipe is great to make ahead and the caramelized sugar topping is a great way to finish the dish.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Chill time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Mediterranean, Spanish

Servings 4

Calories 283 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 660 grams / 2 ¾ cups whole milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoon orange peel
• 1 tablespoon lemon peel
• 90 grams / 5 large egg yolks room temperature
• 75 grams / ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
• 25 grams / ¼ cup cornflour
• 20 grams / 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon superfine/caster sugar

Instructions

 

• Place the milk, cinnamon, orange and lemon peel on low heat.
• Meanwhile, whisk the sugar and egg yolks until well combined and smooth.
• Add in the cornflour and whisk until smooth.
• Pour a ladleful of hot milk into the egg yolks and combine.
• Repeat by adding two more ladlefuls of hot milk to the eggs to ensure the yolks are heated slowly.
• Remove the cinnamon stick and citrus peels and pour in the warm egg yolk mixture.
• Heat on low and whisk until the custard is thickened to pudding consistency and leaves a heavy coating on the back of the spoon.
• Remove from the heat and pour into your ramekins.
• Cover with cling film or greaseproof paper and place in the fridge for several hours or preferably overnight.
• Remove and sprinkle a heaped teaspoon layer of sugar on top of each custard and place under an oven grill or kitchen torch until it has caramelized sugar crust and is golden brown.
• Serve and tap to dig in.
• Enjoy!

Video

Notes

• Milk: Whole milk is recommended for making this as traditional as possible. If you prefer, a creamy dairy free milk would work, but would likely not have the same results. The weight of the milk in grams is 679.
• Corn starch: Sometimes termed cornflour in certain parts of the globe. Corn starch is what gives our pudding that thick texture without being runny. It needs to be heated to 95C/203F before it is activated to thicken.
• Lemon and Orange peel: We only need a small piece of the peel to give your custard hints of both flavors. You can omit one or both if you don't like the flavor, though they add depth to the dessert.
• Cinnamon stick: The cinnamon stick results in a soft flavor of cinnamon through our custard alongside the light citrus flavors so it’s best not to skip on adding this also. In other words, if you only have ground cinnamon, add ¼ teaspoon to the cornflour and whisk into your eggs to infuse with the same flavor.
• Difference between crema catalana and creme brulee: Creme Brulee and Cream Catalana are both custards made with egg yolks and sugar and topped with a caramelized sugar topping. However, the main difference is Creme Brulee is usually made with cream and is baked in a water bath to set the custard; whilst Crema Catalana is made with whole milk and thickened in a saucepan with flour or cornstarch without any baking. A further key difference between Creme Brulee and Crema Catalana is that Brulee is traditionally flavored with vanilla bean whereas Crema Catalana is flavored with cinnamon sticks and citrus peel.
• Make ahead: This custard is best served chilled so it's certainly best to make ahead and allow to chill until 1 or 2 hours before serving where you can make that caramelized sugar topping and serve no more than 2 hours later to ensure the topping is nice and crisp.
• Ramekin capacity: The ramekins used here have ¾ cup capacity so are an average size. You could replace with small bowls, if that's all you have on hand.

Adapted from Directo al Paladar

Nutrition

Calories: 283kcal

Keyword custard, no bake dessert

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