| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 10 min |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 5 cups milk
- 4 strips orange zest
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- Pinch salt
- 8 large egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar, plus extra for caramelizing
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Special equipment: 10 (5-ounce) ramekins
- In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, orange zest, cinnamon sticks, and salt to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes to infuse flavors. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the 1 cup of sugar until pale and fluffy. Whisk the cornstarch with 1/2 cup water to make a slurry and whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Remove and discard the orange zest and cinnamon sticks from the milk. Whisking constantly, gradually add the milk to the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly to thicken, about 3 to 5 minutes. Strain the custard into a large bowl and whisk in the vanilla. Divide the custard between 10 (5-ounce) ramekins and smooth the surfaces. Cool the custards slightly, then cover the ramekins with the plastic wrap and refrigerate them until the custard is cold, at least 8 or up to 24 hours
- To serve the crema catalana, sprinkle each ramekin evenly with 2 teaspoons of sugar. Use a kitchen torch to melt and caramelize the sugar until browned and crusty. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 203 |
| Total Fat | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 28 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 26 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 160 mg |
| Sodium | 74 mg |
Reviews
I am curious. The last words in this recipe state to serve immediately….. Does this mean you can’t make this ahead of time? Does this mean it has to be eatten immediately and can’t be stored? I want to make this recipe so much but not if I can’t make it ahead and store it once cooked. This looks a nice recipe.
So stated my creme brulee fans. This sets just fine if you follow the recommendations of previous reviewers. The essential step is to set aside 1/2 cup of the milk in a small bowl, and slowly whisk in the cornstarch. Once the hot liquid has been added to the eggs to temper, rewhisk the cornstarch mixture, then whisk it into the egg/milk mix before it goes back to the pan. Also whip the yolks and sugar in a stand mixer, if available, to the pale yellow ribbon stage. Finally, when the mixture starts to thicken, it’s done; don’t wait too long, as it will really set up and be difficult to portion out. I did this, and had to push it through the sieve with a rubber spatula. But the finished texture and flavor were great. I also substituted lemon zest for most of the orange zest. Served it with “Cat’s Tongue” cookies from “The International Cookie Cookbook (Nancy Baggett), and it was a big hit (the cookies were a great match).
I made this with 1 cup of milk and I had to mix the cornstarch with a bit of water before adding it to the milk. An amazing result but the process failed miserably when I repeated with 5 cups milk. Ended up tasting very pasty.
This was outstanding. Just dissolve the corn starch in a little researved milk, add it to the mixture and bring it back up to a soft boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Also, make sure you whip the egg yolks and sugar really well. It is so so good!!! The cinnimon is a knock out!
Was real excited to try this recipe,and so disappointed when it did not set, went exactly by the directions.
I just watched this recipe being put together again today and I realize she was cutting this in half but she used 1 T. of cornstarch to a 1/2 cup water before adding it to the egg and milk mixture. The recipe on the web page did not say a thing about water. I don’t think it will make much difference but I think they need to put the recipe down like it is shown on TV or we will not get it right or be confused.
This recipe has a wonderful flavor however it does not set up. I had read the other reviews and knew this could be a problem so I added unflavored gelatin that I use when I make Panna Cotta, it still did not set up. There are too many non cook custards that work perfectly everytime to mess with this recipe. It’s really bad when you plan a dessert for a dinner party and then the dessert fails. Don’t do this at home!
My family and guests went crazy over this. I’ve already made it three times! I read an earlier review about it not getting thick. I think the key there is NOT to bring it to a complete boil before tempering the egg mixture. So bring it to almost a boil (scald), turn off the heat, temper the egg mixture, then bring to a quick boil and it should thicken in about 5 minutes.
The recipe never set up. I followed the directions precisly and even made it twice just incase I made a mistake. No luck the second time either. Very disappointing…it did smell great and the flavor was good just a liquid that never thickened.