Crema andorrana

Ingredients

Custard

• 1 litrewhole milk
• 1cinnamon stick
• peel of 1 unwaxed lemon, no white pith
• 8large egg yolks
• 200 gcaster sugar
• 40 gcornflour
• 1 pinchof fine salt

Burnt crust

• 80 gcaster sugar, for burning

Directions

1. Set aside 100 ml of the cold milk. Put the rest in a heavy pan with the cinnamon stick and lemon peel and bring to just below boiling, then take off the heat and steep 20 minutes.
2. Whisk the yolks with the 200 g sugar and the salt for 2–3 minutes, until pale and thick enough to fall in a ribbon.
3. Slake the cornflour smoothly into the reserved cold milk and whisk it into the yolks.
4. Strain the infused milk and pour it onto the yolks in a thin stream, whisking constantly, then return everything to the pan.
5. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring in a figure of eight with a wooden spoon and reaching into the corners, for 6–8 minutes. At about 82–85°C (180–185°F) the custard thickens abruptly and gives one or two lazy bubbles; pull it off there.
6. Pour immediately into six shallow terracotta cassoles, no more than 3 cm deep, and press cling film onto the surface so no skin forms.
7. Chill at least 6 hours, and preferably overnight, until set with a faint wobble.
8. Just before serving, sprinkle 2 heaped tsp of sugar in an even layer over each dish and shake off any excess.
9. Press a red-hot cremador iron flat onto the sugar for 3–4 seconds, or work a blowtorch across it, until it melts to a dark amber glass. Serve within 10 minutes, while the crust still cracks under the spoon.

Technique

• Andorra’s version is the Catalan crema catalana under a local name; what Andorran cooks claim as theirs is a deeper dish, a slightly richer custard and a spoonful of ratafia. How much daylight there really is between the two is disputed.
• This is not creme brulee. It is cooked on the hob and thickened with starch, not baked in a water bath, which is why it can be brought to a bubble without splitting, and why it must be stirred or the base scorches.
• The crust is burnt at the last moment. On a cold custard the caramel starts to weep and soften within about 20 minutes.

Substitutions

• No cremador iron: a blowtorch is the usual answer, or slide the very cold dishes under a fiercely hot grill for 60–90 seconds, close to the element.
• Cornflour can be swapped for 30 g of rice flour, which sets a little shorter and less glossy.

Variations

• Stir 1 tbsp of ratafia into the finished custard, the commonest Andorran touch.
• Crema de Sant Josep, the same custard made for 19 March in Catalonia, sometimes with orange peel alongside the lemon.

Frequently asked questions

What is Crema andorrana?

Crema andorrana is a dessert from Andorra: burnt-sugar custard, Andorra’s take on crema catalana.

How long does Crema andorrana take to make?

Crema andorrana takes 25 min of preparation and 6 hr chilling of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Crema andorrana?

Yes, within limits. No cremador iron: a blowtorch is the usual answer, or slide the very cold dishes under a fiercely hot grill for 60–90 seconds, close to the element. Cornflour can be swapped for 30 g of rice flour, which sets a little shorter and less glossy.

What is the most important thing to get right in Crema andorrana?

This is not creme brulee. It is cooked on the hob and thickened with starch, not baked in a water bath, which is why it can be brought to a bubble without splitting, and why it must be stirred or the base scorches.