Catalan Burnt Cream Scented with Cinnamon and Lemon

What you need

• 500 ml (2 cups) whole milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 lemon, peel only, pared in wide strips without the white pith
• 4 large egg yolks
• 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar, for the custard
• 25 g (3 tbsp) cornstarch
• 4 tbsp superfine sugar, for the burnt top

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Pour the milk into a saucepan and drop in the cinnamon stick and lemon peel.

2. 2

   Heat over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edge, 5-7 min. Take the pan off the heat, cover it and let the flavours steep for 15 min.

3. 3

   In a bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until pale and thick, about 2 min.

4. 4

   Whisk in the cornstarch until no dry lumps remain.

5. 5

   Lift the cinnamon stick and lemon peel out of the milk and discard them.

6. 6

   Pour the warm milk onto the yolk mixture in a thin stream, whisking all the time.

7. 7

   Tip everything back into the pan and stir it over medium-low heat without a break, until the cream thickens and heavily coats the spoon, 4-6 min. Let it bubble once so the cornstarch cooks, but do not let it boil hard.

8. 8

   Divide the cream among 4 shallow clay dishes or ramekins and leave to cool for 10 min.

9. 9

   Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

10. 10

    Just before serving, scatter 1 tbsp superfine sugar evenly over each dish.

11. 11

    Melt the sugar with a kitchen torch or a hot caramelizing iron until it forms a dark amber crust. Give it 1 min to harden, then serve.

Imported from visitsouthernspain.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.