Leite-Creme
Leite-creme is one of Portugal's best-loved desserts: a silky milk-and-egg-yolk custard, scented with lemon peel and cinnamon, crowned with a crackling burnt-sugar crust. It is made entirely on the stovetop, with no oven, and the secret is to stir constantly and never let it boil once the yolks are in.
- Yields
- 4 to 6 bowls
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
Ingredients
- 500 ml Whole milk
- 5 Egg yolks
- 100 g Sugar
- 30 g Cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 strip Lemon peel
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 4 tbsp Sugar for the crust
Method
Set aside about 100 ml of the cold milk. Heat the rest of the milk with the lemon peel and cinnamon stick until almost boiling (≈ 85 °C / 185 °F), without letting it come to a full boil. Take off the heat and let it infuse for 5 minutes.
In a separate pan, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and cornflour. Add the reserved cold milk and stir to a smooth, lump-free batter.
Remove the lemon peel and cinnamon from the hot milk and pour it over the yolk mixture in a thin stream, stirring constantly, to temper the yolks without scrambling them.
Return everything to low heat and cook, stirring without stopping with a wooden spoon (in a figure-eight, scraping the base), until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. As soon as the first bubbles appear, take it off the heat at once — never let it boil, or the yolks will curdle.
Pour the custard into individual bowls or a shallow earthenware dish, smooth the top and let it cool. You can chill it, with cling film pressed onto the surface so it does not form a skin.
Just before serving, dust the surface with an even layer of sugar and burn it with a glowing branding iron or a kitchen blowtorch until it forms a crisp amber crust. Serve straight away.