Crema
Catalana

Infuse the milk

Pour whole milk (500 ml) into a pot. Zest lemon (zest) (1 szt) thinly (yellow part only — the white is bitter) and drop it into the milk with cinnamon stick (1 szt). Heat almost to a boil, take off the heat and let sit 15 minutes to infuse.

Whisk the yolks

In a bowl whisk egg yolks (6 szt) with sugar (100 g) and potato starch (30 g). Mix until pale and smooth with no starch lumps.

Combine and thicken

Strain whole milk (500 ml) through a sieve into the yolks in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Discard the zest and cinnamon. Pour everything back into the pot and heat on medium, stirring without stopping. After 4-5 minutes the cream will thicken — once it bubbles and has a thick pudding texture, take it off the heat.

Pour into dishes

Pour the cream into 6 shallow heatproof dishes or ramekins. Shallower is better — classic crema catalana has a thin layer of cream and a thick caramel shell.

Chill in the fridge

Cover the dishes with cling film touching the surface of the cream — otherwise a skin forms. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

Chill in the fridge

240:00

Start

Caramelize the sugar

Just before serving sprinkle each portion with a thin, even layer of sugar for caramel (60 g). Caramelize with a kitchen torch held about 5 cm above the sugar — it should melt and turn deep brown. No torch: heat the oven grill to max and place the dishes on the top shelf for 2-3 minutes, watching constantly.