Ingredients (for 4 servings):
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 stick cinnamon
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 cups milk
Preparation:
In a pot, beat together the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until thoroughly blended and the mixture turns frothy. Add the cinnamon stick and grated lemon rind. Pour in the milk and cornstarch. Slowly heat the mixture, stirring constantly, just until thickened. Remove pot from heat immediately.
Tip: As soon as the mixture thickens and you feel resistance while stirring, remove the pot from the heat or the mixture may curdle or separate! The texture of the finished crema will be grainy instead of smooth and creamy as it should be.
Remove the cinnamon stick and ladle the milk mixture into 4-6 ramekins (depending on size). Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
Before serving, preheat the oven to 250. Remove ramekins with the crema catalana from refrigerator and sprinkle the rest of the sugar over each ramekin. When Oven is hot, place the ramekins under the broiler on the top shelf and allow the sugar to caramelize, turning gold and brown. This may take 10 minutes or so, depending on your broiler. Remove and serve immediately.