Ingredients
The custard
- 1 litrewhole milk
- 150 gsugar
- 5 tablespoonscornflour
- or cornstarch
- 2cinnamon sticks
- a strip of lemon zest
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoonvanilla
Sometimes added
- 2egg yolks
- for a richer custard
- a little butter
- condensed milk
To finish
- ground cinnamon, to dust
- grated nutmeg, optional
To serve
- warm in cups
- or chilled in glasses
- to children and the unwell
Directions
- Bring it to a simmer and hold it there. Cornflour can also be cooked too long. Pour most of the milk into a heavy pot. Keep about two hundred millilitres back. Add the cinnamon sticks to the pot. Add the lemon zest and the salt.
- Use a pot larger than you think you need. Never walk away from a milk pot on the heat. Warm it gently over a medium heat. Bring it to a bare simmer only. Let it infuse for about ten minutes. The cinnamon needs time to give up flavour.
- Put the cornflour in a small bowl. Add the reserved cold milk gradually. Whisk it into a smooth thin paste. It must be completely smooth first. Whisk it thoroughly before it goes in. Stir the sugar into the hot milk. Let it dissolve completely into it. Adding the slurry in takes care. Pour the slurry in very slowly. Whisk it hard as you pour it in.
- Keep whisking until it is all in. Whisk continuously through this stage. Bring it back to a bare simmer. Let it cook for about three minutes. Stir it constantly the whole time. Stir right into the corners each time. Do not stop stirring at any point. Leave it looser than you want it. Taste a little to check for rawness.
- Cook it on if it still tastes starchy. Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl. Take a ladle of the hot custard. Whisk it slowly into the yolks. Add a second ladle the same way. Cold yolks added to a hot pot scramble.
- Stir it constantly as it goes back in. Do not let it boil after the yolks go in. Take the pot right off the heat. Stir the vanilla in at the end. Pour it through a fine mesh sieve. It gives a genuinely smooth result.
- Pour it into cups while still warm. Dust ground cinnamon generously over each. Grate a little nutmeg over if you like. Serving it cold is the other way. Let it cool to room temperature. Press film down onto the surface. Film pressed onto the surface prevents it. Serve it in glasses with cinnamon on top. Loosen it with a little milk if needed.
Technique
- Cornflour must be mixed to a smooth slurry with cold milk before it goes near the pot, since dry cornflour tipped into hot milk lumps at once and those lumps never break down; and it does not thicken properly until it reaches a simmer, so stopping short leaves it thin and tasting chalky.
- Cornflour can also be cooked too long: prolonged boiling breaks the starch down and the mixture thins again, so a few minutes at a bare simmer is right.
- This is deliberately loose, a thin pouring custard rather than a set one, and it thickens considerably as it cools, so leave it looser than you want it; it is given warm to children and to people recovering from illness.
Substitutions
- Two egg yolks tempered in give a richer custard, though they are optional.
- Condensed milk in place of some sugar makes it richer and sweeter.
Variations
- It is served warm in cups or chilled in glasses, and both are done.
- Some cooks add a little butter for richness.
- The cinnamon dusting on top is part of the dish rather than a garnish.
History
A nursery and convalescent dessert across Honduras and El Salvador, poured warm into cups and dusted with cinnamon.
Frequently asked questions
What is Leche poleada?
Leche poleada is a dessert from Honduras: loose milk custard thickened with cornstarch and scented with cinnamon. A nursery and convalescent dessert across Honduras and El Salvador, poured warm into cups and dusted with cinnamon.
How long does Leche poleada take to make?
Leche poleada takes 10 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Leche poleada?
Yes, within limits. Two egg yolks tempered in give a richer custard, though they are optional. Condensed milk in place of some sugar makes it richer and sweeter.
What is the most important thing to get right in Leche poleada?
Use a pot larger than you think you need. Never walk away from a milk pot on the heat. Warm it gently over a medium heat. Bring it to a bare simmer only. Let it infuse for about ten minutes. The cinnamon needs time to give up flavour.
