Vegan crema catalana
* The number of servings will vary depending on the container you use to serve the crema catalana. We got 6 servings using small clay dishes.
Crema catalana is a typical dessert from Catalonia (as you will already have guessed from its name) and, although it is eaten all year round, it is traditionally eaten on 19 March, St Joseph's Day, which is why it is also called crema de Sant Josep.
After natillas (a Spanish custard), which already existed in ancient Rome several centuries before Christ and of which it is thought to be an evolution, crema catalana is considered one of the oldest desserts in Europe and, in fact, already appears in medieval Catalan recipe books such as the Llibre de Sent Soví (14th century) or the Llibre del Coch (16th century).
But, luckily, we no longer live in medieval times and we know that we can make a delicious crema catalana without using any animal-based ingredients, which will also allow us to enjoy a healthier version of this historic dessert.
With this version we spare ourselves both the carbohydrates, fat and cholesterol of the egg, and the cholesterol and excess sodium and fat of cow's milk, as we replace the latter with soy milk, which provides protein, B vitamins, especially B6 and B9 (folic acid), calcium (since nowadays all of them are fortified with this mineral), phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, plenty of fibre and isoflavones, which help prevent bone loss, improve blood circulation and fight bad cholesterol and triglycerides.
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- Step 1In a saucepan, heat the soy milk (reserving 1/8 l. soy milk for later), with the cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and sugar. When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and set aside.
- Step 2In the soy milk we set aside, add the cornstarch and stir until it dissolves completely without any lumps. Then, if we want to give it a slightly brighter color, add the turmeric and stir until it dissolves as well.
- Step 3Remove the cinnamon and lemon peel from the pot where we have the boiled soya milk and put it back to heat until it breaks to boil again. We pour the mixture of soy milk with starch, stir vigorously so that it thickens and remove from heat (you will see that it thickens very quickly).
- Step 4Pour the contents of the saucepan where we are going to serve the cream (preferably in clay pots) and introduce it in the fridge until it is completely cool (2 hours approx.).
- Step 5Finally, sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of sugar over each of the containers and burn it with a kitchen torch or a special plate for Catalan cream. In this way we will remain toasted and crispy.