Recipe: Catalan Custards with Burnt Sugar Topping (Crema Catalana) for Lil

CATALAN CUSTARDS WITH BURNT SUGAR TOPPING (CREMA CATALANA)
Source: My Kitchen in Spain: 225 Authentic Regional Recipes by Janet Mendel

6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 cups milk
Zest of 1 lemon
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
3 Tbsp. cornstarch

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of the sugar.

Combine 3 cups of the milk in a pan with the lemon zest and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Strain the milk and whisk it into the beaten yolks.

Stir the remaining 1 cup of milk and cornstarch together in a small bowl until smooth. Stir it into the custard mixture.

Pour the custard into a clean saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, untol it just begins to bubble. Remove from the heat and divide among 6 shallow pudding dishes or ramekins. Cool the custard. The puddings can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated, but bring them to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.

Shortly before serving, sprinkle the tops of the custards with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Carmelize the tops with a kitchen blowtorch. A broiler does not work very well for carmelizing the sugar topping unless you are able to place the pudding dishes very close to the heat source.

Servings: 6