Crema Catalana (Catalan Crème Brûlée)
An original recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Serves 4
-
300m/10fl ozs cream
-
300ml/10fl ozs full fat milk (don't even think about skim!)
-
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
-
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
-
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon if pressed for time
-
4 egg yolks (from large eggs)
-
80grams/2.8 ozs caster sugar
-
2 tablespoons cornflour
-
4 tablespoons caster sugar for toffee
Step 1 - Place cream milk, cinnamon stick and the two zests is a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and if stand for 1 hour. When I don't have an hour to wait I use ground cinnamon which imparts the flavour quickly.
Step 2 - With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and the 80grams/3ozs of caster sugar until pale , thick and fluffy. Add the cornflour and beat until combined and all lumps have disappeared.
Step 3 - If the fragrant cream mixture has been infusing for an hour, bring it back to the boil and then strain it through a sieve into a bowl. If not and it's still warm, just strain it through a sieve into a bowl.
Step 4 - Add 2 tablespoons of the warm cream mixture to the eggs and stir to incorporate, then add the rest of the cream mixture. Return this to the saucepan on a low heat, the lower the better but it will require patience. Heat on low stirring constantly until the mixture it thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon i.e. a custardy texture (about 5 minutes).
Step 5 - Pour into 4 x150-175ml ramekins and when cooled place in fridge overnight or for at least 4-6 hours until chilled.
Step 6 - Just before serving, make a toffee crust by sprinkling a tablespoon full of the extra caster sugar onto the top evenly ensuring that the whole surface is coated with sugar and using a blowtorch, caramelise it. The toffee won't stay hard forever so don't do this too ahead of time as a lack of toffee crunch in a Brûlée, I believe, is why ancient wars were started.