← Nouns Cooking · Spanish

Ingredients

• 150 g sugar, for the caramel
• 3 tbsp Water
• 500 ml whole milk
• 1 strip of lemon peel
• 1 Cinnamon stick (optional)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 100 g Sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and put a kettle on. Heat the sugar and water in a small pan over medium heat, swirling but not stirring, for 6–8 min, until it turns a deep amber caramel. Pour it straight into a 20 cm round dish or 6 ramekins and tilt to coat the base. Take care: it is extremely hot.
2. Warm the milk with the lemon peel and cinnamon (if using) until steaming, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 min.
3. Whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla together gently, trying not to make froth. Strain in the warm milk and stir to combine, then skim off any bubbles.
4. Pour the custard over the set caramel. Stand the dish in a roasting tin and pour in boiling water to come halfway up the sides.
5. Bake for 40–45 min (25–30 min for ramekins), until the edges are set but the centre still has a gentle wobble.
6. Cool, then chill for at least 4 hours. Run a knife around the edge, put a plate on top and flip it over so the caramel pours down the sides.

Tips

• If the custard has little holes, the oven was too hot; next time lower it by 10 degrees or bake for longer.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Spain on a Fork olive magazine The Spanish Chef (Omar Allibhoy)