Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

1 1/4 c Milk 4 lg Egg yolks
2 1/8 c Cream 3/4 c Castor sugar
Small pieces cinnamon stick 1 tb Cornflour
Few strips lemon peel

(Crema Catalina)

Rich and seductive, Crema Catalina, or Burnt Cream, flavoured with
cinnamon and a hint of lemon, is served in practically every
restaurant in the Catalan region. Sets of 6-8 shallow, terra cotta
dishes to make the dessert in, are sold everywhere, along with a
branding iron, which just fits inside the surface of the dish. The
iron is heated over gas until very hot then plunged on to the sugared
surface of the custard it caramelizes the thin layer of sugar
instantly. It is difficult to obtain the same result under a hot
grill. The heat is not hot enough to do the job quickly, and the
custard heats up and can separate as a result. The best result,
failing a branding iron, is to use a mini blowtorch, similar to the
type used for paint stripping.

I have added a tablespoon of cornflour to the mixture to help thicken
the custard, and to prevent curdling should the custard boil (without
it the eggs will coagulate at boiling point). If you are a confident
custard maker, you can omit it.

extra sugar for sprinkling

Put the milk and cream, cinnamon stick and lemon in a saucepan and
set over a medium heat. Bring just to boiling point, remove from the
heat, cover with a lid and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.

Beat the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour with an electric mixer until
pale and well blended, then pour on the strained milk and cream,
stirring. Set the pan on a low to medium heat and stir continuously
until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon.

Pour into 8-10 small ramekins, cool, then refrigerate. When set (the
custards can be prepared 12 hours ahead up to this point) sprinkle the
surfaces with a light dusting of castor sugar. Flash quickly under a
very hot grill, as close to the source of heat as you can get, or
caramelise the tops of the puds with a blow torch. Refrigerate
several hours before serving (the caramelised topping should be
melting into the custard). Serves 8-10.

Source: Cuisine Jan '95

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