🍮 Crema catalana
Crema catalana is a chilled Catalan custard made from milk and egg yolks, perfumed with cinnamon and lemon zest. Just before serving, the top is sprinkled with sugar and caramelised with a hot iron or torch into a thin, glassy crust that cracks under the spoon. Lighter than crème brûlée because it uses milk, it is served in shallow terracotta dishes.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 ml milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 100 g sugar, plus 4 tbsp for the top
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Zest of 1 lemon, in strips
- 25 g cornstarch
Method
- Heat the milk with the cinnamon stick and lemon zest until just simmering, then leave to infuse 15 minutes and strain.
- Whisk the egg yolks with 100 g sugar and the cornstarch until pale.
- Pour in the warm milk while whisking, return to the pan and stir over low heat until thick, without boiling.
- Pour into shallow dishes and chill at least 2 hours.
- Just before serving, sprinkle each with 1 tbsp sugar and caramelise with a kitchen torch.
How to make it lighter
- The sugar crust adds about 50 kcal per tablespoon of sugar (1 tbsp sugar ≈ 50 kcal), so a thinner layer saves energy.
- Serve in smaller ramekins of about 100 g.
- Lemon zest and cinnamon give plenty of aroma, so the custard sugar can be reduced by a quarter.
History
Crema catalana is a traditional dessert of Catalonia, and custards of this kind have been made there for centuries. It is traditionally eaten on 19 March, the feast of Saint Joseph, which is why it is also called crema de Sant Josep. It is often compared with French crème brûlée, and which came first is still debated.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →