Catalan cream: a classic recipe and its variants. Delicate Spanish dessert "Catalan cream Catalan cream recipe julia vysotskaya

England, France and Spain compete for the championship in creating a popular dessert known under the French name creme brulee. The British call the dessert St. Trinity at the college of the same name in Cambridge, where it was allegedly invented in the 17th century. The creamy dessert, which the French call creme brulee, that is, "burnt cream", also belongs to the same period. For example, its recipe is given in the book by Francois Massialo "The Cook for the King and the Bourgeois" of 1691. But in Spain, a milk dessert with a burnt sugar crust was first mentioned in Catalan recipe sheets as early as the 14th century. Its main difference from the French and English versions is that instead of heavy cream, you need to use milk, which is thickened with corn starch. Also add lemon zest and cinnamon.

Creme brulee and catalan cream differ in some cooking features. The first one is supposed bake, and second - cook on slow fire. Today, catalan cream can be tasted in any Spanish cafe, and not only in Catalonia. In the old days, it was cooked only once a year - March 19, V St. Day Jose(St. Joseph the Betrothed). In modern Spain, this date also accounts for fathers day when children prepare gifts for their fathers and promise to obey them.

Spanish confectioners are constantly experimenting with catalan cream. Based on the popular dessert, mousses, ice cream, cakes and other confectionery products, as well as cocktails and liqueurs.

Three recipes based on Catalan cream by the Spanish confectioner Iñigo Murua, teacher at the Basque Culinary Center

So I got to her (yeah - cream, it means "she") and got there. In fact, creme brulee and creme catalana are two aspects of the same dessert. In the Catalan part of France, creme brulee is still prepared this way, but closer to the north it has transformed into the familiar creme brulee, more tender, denser and high-calorie, and with a different cooking technology. About him, real creme brulee, next time, and today I want to show you his "great-grandmother" (contrary to the British, who claim that creme brulee owes its origin to English cream, its roots come from ... Catalonia and its national dessert).

According to legend, this dessert was born quite by accident, when the nuns of a Catalan monastery were waiting for the visit of the bishop... And the bishop not only arrived ahead of schedule, but was also in a hurry to follow on. Then the resourceful cook, who was going to cook the famous monastery flan, but did not have time in any way, decided to add cornstarch there to thicken it. The mass turned out, frankly, to be nothing of itself, and it didn’t hold its shape in any way, and then she decided to “ennoble” this business with a caramel crust. The Bishop was served dessert right after, with hot caramel, and naturally got burned.
"¡Crema!" ("It burns!" - cat.) - shouted the bishop, having tasted the dessert, and so it was born: "Crema cremada" - burnt cream, which later transformed into "Crema catalana".

So the main difference from the usual custard on the yolks of the catalan cream will be the caramel crust made right before serving on the already chilled and hardened cream.

Catalan restaurants still use this machine:

Although in most cases the crust is made with a special burner, which I already wrote about when it was presented to me as a birthday present.

If neither one nor the other is available, the finished and frozen cream can be sprinkled with sugar and placed under a very well-heated grill. You will get something similar. In fact, I did that until I got my hands on the fire-breathing beast.

So the recipe:

For 6 of these creamers you will need:

1 liter of milk
8 egg yolks
100 g sugar
Peel of one lemon
cinnamon stick
30 g cornstarch
sugar for caramel

I usually make half a serving.

Boil milk with cinnamon and lemon peel (if you add orange peel in addition to lemon, the cream will turn out to be more interesting and fragrant), let it brew for 15 minutes, remove the spices. Beat egg yolks with sugar, add starch, stir everything until smooth, pour into milk, stir again, put on a small fire and cook until thick (do not boil, otherwise everything will curdle).
Spread into bowls, cool, refrigerate for several hours. Before serving, make a caramel crust - sprinkle with sugar (1 tsp. Approximately on a bowl) and set it on fire, depending on the available appliances in the house. Sugar must be well distributed over the surface, then the crust will turn out homogeneous.

Serve immediately - caramel hardens instantly.

Sweet tooth in a lifetime will not be able to try all the desserts that exist in the world. But true gourmets are sure to choose the most popular and only delicious delicacies. Today we will learn how to cook Catalan cream in the home kitchen. The culinary experts have carried the recipe for this dessert through the centuries, because for the first time such a delicacy was tasted in the 14th century.

What do the Catalans eat?

This is not about the cream that is used to grease the cake layers. Catalan cream is a complete dessert, but unusual. If you believe the story, then his recipe was invented quite by accident. When one bishop was supposed to taste a dessert similar to the famous creme brulee, the chefs spoiled it a little and made it too thin. To quickly remedy the situation, I had to fill the dessert with a caramel crust.

Since then, a classic Catalan cream has appeared, which everyone who visits Spain can try. Today you have a unique opportunity to cook a real Catalan dessert according to an old recipe.

Compound:

• 500 ml pasteurized cow's milk;
• 0.1 kg of granulated sugar;
• 20 g cornmeal;
• 3 tsp granulated sugar for caramel;
• 3 pcs. chicken eggs;
• 1 lemon;
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder;
• ½ tsp vanilla extract.

Cooking:

1. From the above list, it can be seen that the preparation of a true Catalan dessert does not require exquisite gourmet products. Let's prepare them.
   
2. We take a bowl and a vegetable peeler. Peel the zest from the lemon in a very thin layer.
   
3. Put the citrus zest in a saucepan.

   

4. Pour the lemon zest with pasteurized cow's milk. Just don't pour out the whole batch. Leave about ¼ of it.
   
5. Add a pinch of cinnamon powder.
   
6. We put the milk on a moderate fire and heat it up.
   
7. While the milk is warming up, separate the egg yolks from the whites.
8. To prepare the Catalan cream, we need only the yolks. Put them in a deep bowl and add granulated sugar.
   
9. Add sifted cornmeal.
10. Mix thoroughly with a hand whisk.
11. Pour in the remaining pasteurized cow's milk.

    

12. Add vanilla extract.
13. Shake thoroughly.
14. In the meantime, our milk has already warmed up. It is not necessary to bring it to a boil.
15. Constantly stirring the egg mass with a whisk, we introduce the heated milk.
    
16. Once again, whisk everything thoroughly.
17. The resulting mixture is filtered through a fine sieve.
    
18. Pour the strained mass into a thick-walled dish.
19. Place over moderate heat and simmer until thickened.
20. During the cooking process, constantly stir the cream with a silicone spatula.
21. Pour hot cream into bowls or other molds.
    
22. Leave the dessert to cool completely.
23. Then sprinkle it with a thin layer of granulated sugar.
24. With the help of a hand burner, turn the granulated sugar into caramel.
    
25. The dessert is ready to eat. Inside it turns out to be liquidish, and on top it is covered with a crispy caramel crust.

Healthy dessert for the whole family

You have already learned how to prepare a Catalan cream according to a classic Spanish recipe. As practice shows, how many chefs, so many opinions, or rather, recipes. Here is another interesting recipe that will help you prepare an unusually tasty and healthy dessert.



Compound:

• 1 liter of pasteurized cow's milk;
• 6 pcs. bay leaves;
• corn starch - 65 g;
• cane sugar - 8 tbsp. l.;
• 8 pcs. chicken eggs;
• 1 lemon.

Cooking:

1. Pour 0.2 l of chilled pasteurized cow's milk into a deep bowl.
2. Pour the corn starch into the milk base.
3. Beat well with a hand whisk until a mass of a homogeneous consistency is obtained.
4. Crack the eggs and carefully separate the yolks.
5. We don’t need protein mass, so you can make excellent meringues from it.
6. Combine the yolks with 2 tbsp. l. cane sugar.
7. We arm ourselves with a blender or mixer.
8. Whisk these ingredients well until fluffy.
9. We combine the resulting mass with milk and beat everything again.
10. Rinse the lemon thoroughly under running water.
11. With the help of a small grater, remove the zest.
12. Pour 800 ml of cow's milk into a saucepan.
13. We put it on the stove. Add bay leaf and citrus zest.
14. We heat the milk, but do not bring it to a boil.
15. Strain the milk mixture in the usual way.
16. We begin to beat the yolk mixture and introduce hot milk in a thin stream.
17. Pour the entire mixture into a thick bowl.
18. We put on a minimum fire and cook until thickened.
19. In no case should this mass be boiled, otherwise the yolk will curdle and the dessert will not work.
20. We take six heat-resistant molds.
21. Pour the hot milk mixture into molds. It turns out approximately 150 ml.
22. Cool the cream, and then move it to the refrigerator for 5 hours.
23. Remove the cream from the refrigerator and sprinkle with cane sugar.
24. We put the molds in the oven and keep on the grill until the granulated sugar turns into a caramel crust.

Modern interpretation of Catalan cream

Catalan cream can be made a little differently. An orange will give a special aroma to the dessert, and cream will give a delicate taste.

Compound:

• 4 things. chicken eggs;
• 70 g of granulated sugar;
• 1 lemon;
• 1 orange;
• 2 tbsp. l. corn starch;
• cinnamon stick;
• 0.25 l of pasteurized milk;
• 0.25 l cream with a fat concentration of 33%;
• 50 g brown sugar.

Cooking:

1. Rinse citrus fruits thoroughly.
2. Using a vegetable peeler or grater, remove the zest.
3. Combine the yolks with sugar and beat thoroughly into a fluffy mixture.
4. In the same mass we introduce citrus zest and corn starch.
5. Whisk well again.
6. Combine pasteurized milk with cream.
7. We heat in a thick-walled dish, adding a cinnamon stick.
8. Then we introduce the egg mass, mix thoroughly and cook until thickened. We do not allow boiling.
9. And then we do as described in the previous recipes.
10. You can immediately sprinkle the cooled dessert with brown sugar and bake until caramelized.

There is nothing complicated in the preparation of Catalana cream. Now an exquisite Spanish dessert with a delicate taste, aroma of cinnamon and citrus will appear on your table. Bon appetit!

Which conquers a true gourmet from the first spoon thanks to a combination of opposites: a soft, cool middle and a crispy crust of caramelized sugar.

The British, French and Catalans argue about who really first invented this dessert, and each, as usual, attributes innovation to his people. There are reasons for this: indeed there is a dessert similar to the catalan cream, which is called creme brulee, but its recipe is somewhat different: cream is used instead of milk, vanilla is used for flavoring, and it is cooked in a water bath. But even at this stage, versions of the origin diverge: the British attribute its creation to Trinity College in the 17th century, and the French refer to the first mention of creme brulee in 1691 by François Messialo. In order not to offend anyone, we will adhere to the original Catalan version of the origin of the dessert.

Crema catalana is considered one of the oldest desserts in Europe; references to it can be found in the Catalan cookbooks Llibre de Sent Soví (XIV century) and Llibre del Coch (XVI century). However, it owes its name to one story that happened in the 18th century: the nuns of the Catalan monastery, waiting for the arrival of the bishop, decided to cook flan (a kind of pudding) for dessert, but it came out too liquid. To save the situation, the nuns decided to perfect the dish with a crust of caramelized sugar. When the dish was served, the crust was still hot, and the bishop, having tasted it, exclaimed: “Crema!”, Which in Catalan means “Burns!”.

Crema catalana has become a popular festive dessert in Catalonia, traditionally it was prepared on the feast of St. Joseph on March 19 (in modern times, Father's Day is also celebrated on this day in Spain). That is why the cream has become an integral part of family holiday dinners in Catalonia, it is mentioned in his work “Quadern gris” (“Grey Notebook”) by the Catalan writer Joseph Pla.

Now the Catalan cream has gained popularity throughout Spain, it is eaten not only on March 19, but also at moments when the soul wants a sweet holiday. He is equally revered among the Spaniards and among tourists , it is prepared at home and in restaurants. Most often, cream is served in clay portioned plates.

There are not so many options for catalan cream, they differ only in the ingredients used: sometimes ordinary starch is used instead of corn starch, cream is sometimes added in modern recipes, but in Catalan lands milk is not flavored with vanilla, as the French do in their creme brulee.

To prepare 4-6 servings of Catalan dessert, you will need the following ingredients:

• 1 liter of milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 100 g sugar for the cream and a little sugar for the crust
• 40 g cornstarch
• Peel of half a lemon (without the white part)
• Peel of half an orange (without the white part)
• finger sized cinnamon stick

In one liter of milk, add the peel of a lemon, an orange and a cinnamon stick - this is how we will flavor it. On medium heat, heat the milk, then, without bringing to a boil, remove from heat and leave covered for 30-60 minutes.

After that, mix 6 yolks with 100 grams of sugar until the ingredients are completely mixed, add 40 grams of cornstarch and mix again.

Pour milk through a sieve into the egg mixture, mix well until a homogeneous mass is obtained.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden or silicone spatula or spoon until the layer remaining on the spoon after stirring becomes denser.

Pass the finished cream through a sieve again. Pour it into separate portioned plates (the classic version is clay), cover with cling film and put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

After the cream has hardened well, sprinkle sugar on top, and using a burner, caramelize the sugar until a crispy brown crust forms.

• Before peeling the lemon and orange they should be washed thoroughly, preferably with a brush. Also, the white part of the peel should not be allowed to get into the dish, it has a very bitter taste that can spoil the dish, so you should use a very sharp knife.
• When mixing products, you should not use a mixer, nor should you mix too actively and for a long time: this will cause excessive formation of bubbles, which will subsequently form an unaesthetic foam.
• Also, do not caramelize the sugar in advance before putting the dessert in the refrigerator, otherwise, under the influence of moisture, it will lose its crunchy texture.
• What to do if there is no burner in the household? There is an exit. You can take a tablespoon or a metal spatula (using an oven mitt or towel), heat it up strongly over the fire (red hot) and go over the sugar layer until a crust forms. Another option is to place the chilled dessert, sprinkled with a layer of sugar, in the oven, heated to the maximum on the grill mode, as close as possible to the heating element for 3-4 minutes, but here it is important to carefully monitor the process so as not to overdo it.

Cream flavored