Crema catalana para principiantes 
Crema Catalana for Beginners
In Catalonia, it's traditional to make this dessert on March 19th for St. Joseph's Day, which is why it's also known as Crema de San José. It's a favorite dessert for many, and kids all over Spain love it. It's even known in other parts of the world. The English and French have a nearly identical custard—coincidence or culinary influence? Many agree its origins are Catalan. This is my second time making it at home, and the key is to stir constantly until the mixture is just about to boil—remove it immediately before it boils. I wanted to share a step-by-step version for anyone who's never tried making it before, so you can do it safely without the eggs curdling. I used four leftover egg yolks from another recipe, and this weekend my daughters and I enjoyed this delicious Crema Catalana, especially the caramelized sugar layer on top that cracks like a thin sheet of glass—crunchy and delicious.
Crema Catalana for Beginners
In Catalonia, it's traditional to make this dessert on March 19th for St. Joseph's Day, which is why it's also known as Crema de San José. It's a favorite dessert for many, and kids all over Spain love it. It's even known in other parts of the world. The English and French have a nearly identical custard—coincidence or culinary influence? Many agree its origins are Catalan. This is my second time making it at home, and the key is to stir constantly until the mixture is just about to boil—remove it immediately before it boils. I wanted to share a step-by-step version for anyone who's never tried making it before, so you can do it safely without the eggs curdling. I used four leftover egg yolks from another recipe, and this weekend my daughters and I enjoyed this delicious Crema Catalana, especially the caramelized sugar layer on top that cracks like a thin sheet of glass—crunchy and delicious.
Cooking Instructions
- 1
In a saucepan, mix the 4 egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar (about 150 grams) until smooth.
- 2
Add the starch and the zest from half a lemon to the saucepan. Stir, then add the milk.
- 3
Place the saucepan over the heat, add the cinnamon stick, and stir to combine the ingredients well.
- 4
Set the heat to medium-high and stir constantly so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Cook until the mixture thickens, but do not let it boil to prevent the eggs from curdling. If it does curdle, the custard is still edible but will be more liquid and won't set.
- 5
Remove from heat, take out the cinnamon stick, and divide the custard into 4 serving dishes.
- 6
Let cool to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator.
- 7
When ready to serve, sprinkle the remaining sugar over each dish and caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch.
- 8
If you don't have a torch, you can caramelize the top in the oven. Use oven-safe dishes, preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C), and place the dishes under the broiler until the sugar is caramelized. Serve immediately.
Similar Recipes
-
Spanish Crema Catalana Spanish Crema Catalana
This recipe is quite sweet, but the one my friend made for me in Catalonia was even sweeter. I really like cinnamon sugar, so I committed a sin and changed the recipe around a bit.The cinnamon flavour and zest are essential to this recipe. Add plenty of brown sugar and cook until lovely and crispy. Cook on a high heat from start to finish. The sugar will caramelize very quickly, so to prevent burning it, don't leave it unattended. Recipe by KT121
-
Delicious Crema Catalana with Rum Delicious Crema Catalana with Rum
I wanted to quickly make a delicious dessert for the guests.You can serve them warm, or in summer I freeze them and eat them half frozen!! You can simply chill them in a refrigerator too! The inside is very creamy and the rum is so flavorful. This is amazing. Recipe by Yuka mama -
Catalan/Spanish creme bruleé Catalan/Spanish creme bruleé
Strawberries are their best fruity companion!
-
Good for Beginners Cream Puffs Good for Beginners Cream Puffs
I failed many times at making cream puffs. So from those experiences, I wanted to make a no-fail cream puff recipe!! If you are going to make it, you want to succeed, right?Be careful when adding the egg at Step 7! The amount of egg depends on the amount of moisture evaporating from the dough at Step 4.If you want to add flavor to the dough, reduce 110 ml water to 60 ml water + 50 ml milk. Recipe by LAYLA* -
Recommended for Beginners! Tomato Cream Pasta Recommended for Beginners! Tomato Cream Pasta
Cream sauce is my specialty, but my husband loves tomato sauce, so I combined both.Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the water to boil the pasta.This is a recipe that uses my favorite white cream " Recommended for Beginners! Macaroni Gratin". Recipe by Enashiyou -
Crema De Fruta Crema De Fruta
Crema de Fruta is a popular Filipino dessert. It is usually baked in an oven and consists of various layers of fruit cocktail, gelatin, and cream. To eliminate the need for baking, this recipe has substituted graham crackers for sponge cake. Different types of fruit can also be used depending on your taste and the availability of different types of fruit.It is usually served during theChristmas season.
-
Yogurt Cream Yogurt Cream
This is a recipe to use up leftover yogurt. It's a plain version of user "Spain's" "Rich Yogurt Chestnut Cream."It's also delicious with fruit. Recipe by Doroshi- mama -
Simple Bavarian Cream Simple Bavarian Cream
I wanted to eat a Bavarian cream, so I adapted the recipe I learned a long time ago to make it easier.It's a rich, smooth and well flavored Bavarian cream.Don't let the milk come to a boil. Turn the heat off when the milk is hot, and add the gelatin.When adding the hot milk from Step 2 to the egg yolks in Step 3, make sure the milk is not too hot. Combine while trying not to introduce air bubbles, and pour the mixture through a tea strainer into the molds. This makes the cream smooth and silky, so don't skip this step. For 5 to 6 cups. Recipe by kiri19 -
Catalan Three kings' cake Catalan Three kings' cake
The most typical dessert in Catalonia for the 6 of January. There are many variants, but this one is the classic one. I hope you'll like it. The effort is totally worth it! -
5-Minute Custard-like Cream 5-Minute Custard-like Cream
I tried making this a while back with some leftover milk coffee and it was delicious.It will start boiling once the thickening process begins, so do not to let it burn.Adjust the amount of sugar in relation to the sweetness of your milk base.This time, I used 25 g of sugar. For 8 small cream buns' worth. Recipe by La Land -
Créme Caramel Créme Caramel
Hi!! The heatwave is finally over, hoorayyyy but we have rain on and off during the day. Our basset hound Charlie, who is now 1 year old, was really having a rough time with the heat last week, as we all did but I did my best to keep him cool with those cool collars. If you have not tried them yet, please do they really work!! He is now running around and enjoying his walks and playing with all the other little doggies…:)When it’s hot I like to make different sorts of desserts that are refrigerated instead of always going for Ice Cream. Not that I don’t love Ice Cream!!! I’mein just saying. So, I made this very easy and enjoyable summer dessert called Cremé Caramelé. I do understand that it is not summer all over the world, but it will be at some point, so keep this dessert in mind as a cool off. Buuuttt you can always make this dessert during the winter time, and enjoy eating it with a nice warm cup of Hot Chocolate or a nice big cup of Cappucino or whatever warm drink you enjoy.
-
Basic Recipe for Custard Cream Basic Recipe for Custard Cream
I made it for my family as a midnight snack! For more creativity , you can add new flavors and food colorings.
More Recipes
