One of Europe’s oldest desserts, Spain’s famous burnt custard dessert known as Crema Catalana (Catalan Cream) is flavored with orange, lemon and a hint of cinnamon and has an irresistibly creamy texture and caramelized sugar topping! We’re confident you’re going to absolutely love it!
If you’re searching for an elegant yet super easy-to-make dessert that will guaranteed impress your dinner guests, you will love this Crema Catalana recipe!
The process involves making a thickened vanilla custard, pouring it into ramekins and letting it cool and firm up, and then pouring sugar over the top and either burning it with a hot iron rod or a kitchen torch to form a burnt sugar crust.
Catalan Cream vs. Crème Brûlée: What Is The Difference?
Known as crema catalana or crema cremada (“burnt cream”), Catalan Cream is very similar to the French crème brûlée but there are some distinct differences. Crème brûlée is flavored with vanilla while Catalan cream is made with both vanilla and also flavored with orange and/or lemon and a hint of cinnamon.
Crème brûlée is made with all cream while Catalan cream is made with milk or sometimes a combination of both (but more milk than cream). Whereas crème brûlée is thickened with the whole egg, Catalan cream uses the egg yolk only resulting in an even richer, creamier and slightly less firm texture. Some also describe crème brûlée as having a “greasier” texture whereas Catalan cream is lighter and more delicate.
While crème brûlée has become the more widely known of the two versions and the invention of the famous burnt custard is commonly attributed to France, the credit actually goes to Spain. Among Europe’s oldest desserts, Catalan Cream dates back to at least the 14th century, the first time it appeared in print in the cookbook Llibre de Sent Soví, whereas the earliest known recipe for crème brûlée didn’t appear until 1691 in Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois.
As its name suggests, Catalan cream hails from Catalonia, the northeastern province of Spain, home to beach resorts, the Pyrenees Mountains and of course Barcelona. Catalonia also boasts a number of quaint and charming villages. One of our favorites is the picturesque medieval village of Besalu, just north of Barcelona, which features a striking 12th-century Romanesque bridge, arcaded streets, an early 10th century church, Jewish bath and synagogue.
Crema Catalana is enjoyed throughout the year in Catalonia but is also traditionally served on Saint Joseph’s Day on March 19th and is thus also sometimes called Crema de Sant Josep after Saint Joseph the husband of the Virgin Mary.
Crema Catalana Recipe
Crema Catalana is very easy to make, it only takes some patience as you have to wait a few hours for it to chill and set. It’s flavor gets even better the next day so you if you can handle the wait we highly recommend it because it’s well worth it.
Let’s get started!
Pour the milk and cream in a small stock pot and add the orange and lemon peel, vanilla bean or vanilla paste, and cinnamon stick. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching, until the milk is just on the bring of boiling. Then turn off the heat, cover (to prevent a skin from forming).
Let sit and cool for 30-45 minutes to allow the flavors of the citrus peel, vanilla and cinnamon to infuse the milk. Once cooled down remove the citrus zest, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean (if using).
Towards the end of the cooling process, put the sugar and cornstarch in a mixing bowl along with the egg yolks. Whisk until smooth and pale.
Pour some of the milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture and whisk together.
Next pour all of the egg yolk mixture into the pot with with the milk mixture and whisk until combined.
Slowly heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until it is thickened. DO NOT BOIL.
Pour the custard into individual ramekins.
Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on top. Let them cool and then place them in the refrigerator to chill overnight, preferably for 24 hours for best flavor. The longer the custard chills the more time the flavor will have to develop.
Remove the custard from the fridge at least 20 minutes before serving to come to room temperature.
Then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
What is Turbinado Sugar?
Turbinado sugar is sugarcane that has been only partially refined so that it still has some of the original molasses content. It is NOT the same as brown sugar. The sugar crystals are also coarser/larger and make for a thicker burnt sugar topping over the Catalan cream. You can find turbinado sugar in most well-stocked grocery stores (it may be in the health section of some) or you can also find it here on Amazon.
Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top of each custard. The more you add, the thicker the crunchy burnt sugar topping will be. But be careful or the dessert will be overly sweet.
Use a butane kitchen torch to “burn” the sugar until it’s a rich golden brown with some dark areas.
Broiler Method: Broiler Method: If you’d rather you can also caramelize the sugar under the broiler in the oven instead of using a kitchen torch. To do this make sure the Catalan Cream is fully set and very cold (straight out of the fridge). Broil until the sugar is caramelized. Note this method runs the risk of cracking the dish so you have to be very careful! Also with broiling it will NOT get as dark and caramelized as with a kitchen torch.
The ramekins will be very hot so let them sit for a minute or two and then serve immediately.
Enjoy!
Looking for the perfect Spanish-themed dinner to accompany your Crema Catalana? Serve it with Paella! Try one of our delicious traditional paella recipes:
Crema Catalana (Catalan Cream)
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 large strips orange peel (avoid as much of the bitter white pith as possible)
- 3 large strips lemon peel (avoid as much of the bitter white pith as possible)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 whole vanilla bean , split and the insides scraped into the pot along with the whole bean
- OR 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (use paste, not extract, as the paste has real vanilla bean flecks in it and is more concentrated in flavor)
- 7 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (use 1 cup if you prefer it sweeter, but keep in mind it will have the additional burnt sugar topping)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- turbinado sugar , for the burnt sugar topping
Instructions
- Pour the milk and cream in a small stock pot and add the orange and lemon peel, vanilla bean or vanilla paste, and cinnamon stick. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching, until the milk is just on the bring of boiling. Then turn off the heat, cover (to prevent a skin from forming).Let sit and cool for 30-45 minutes to allow the flavors of the citrus peel, vanilla and cinnamon to infuse the milk. Once cooled down remove the citrus zest, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean (if using).
- Towards the end of the cooling process, put the sugar and cornstarch in a mixing bowl along with the egg yolks. Whisk until smooth and pale. Pour some of the milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture and whisk together. Next pour all of the egg yolk mixture into the pot with with the milk mixture and whisk until combined. Slowly heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until it is thickened. DO NOT BOIL.Pour the custard into individual ramekins. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on top. Let them cool and then place them in the refrigerator to chill overnight, preferably for 24 hours for best flavor. The longer the custard chills the more time the flavor will have to develop.
- Remove the custard from the fridge at least 20 minutes before serving to come to room temperature.Then sprinkle with turbinado sugar. (The more you add, the thicker the crunchy burnt sugar topping will be. But be careful or it will end up being overly sweet.) Use a butane kitchen torch to "burn" the sugar until it's a rich golden brown with some dark areas (see Note for alternate method). The ramekins will be very hot so let them sit for a minute or two and then serve immediately.
Notes
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet March 31, 2020
Thao says
My Crema Catalans is grainny. What did I do wrong?
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Thao, the eggs curdled from allowing the mixture to overheat.
Ece says
Hi kimberley thanks for this great recipe. Unfortunately because your instructions at the top only say ‘pour the milk in to the pot’ rather than milk and cream like in the bottom version, I completely left the cream out of the recipe! The custard thickened well and they have chilled in the fridge but is there anything I can do to add in the cream at this stage, or will that ruin them? Would really appreciate your advice if you saw this ASAP!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ece, I apologize for that oversight in the pictured tutorial. No, you can’t add the cream at this point but your dessert will be okay, it will just be a little thicker since you used less liquid than called for.
Danielle says
It’s so tasty!
Kay Tyler says
Hi Kimberley
Thank you so much for getting back to me – I ll give that a go👍
Kay Tyler says
Easy to follow recipe – thank you. It tastes lovely but after being in the fridge overnight it is still runny. Is there anything I can do to help set the custard.
Best wishes
Kay
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kay, did you use “large” egg yolks? At this point the only thing you can do is to pour the custard back into a saucepan, return it to a simmer and add some more cornstarch (dissolved in a little water first and then whisk it in until thickened).