Spanish Crema Catalana

History

Crema catalana (crema cremada in Catalan) is a dessert made from cream flavored with lemon zest and cinnamon, traditionally thickened with cornstarch rather than whole egg cooked in a water bath, then topped just before serving with a thin layer of sugar caramelized with a hot iron or blowtorch. It’s traditionally associated with Catalonia and served on March 19th, Saint Joseph’s Day, which also earns it the name crema de Sant Josep.

Its kinship with French crème brûlée has long fueled a culinary debate over which dessert came first, with some historians tracing sweetened, caramel-crusted cream preparations back to Catalan recipes documented as early as the Middle Ages, well before the first French mentions of crème brûlée in the 17th century. The main technical difference lies in texture: crema catalana, cooked on the stovetop and thickened with starch, stays firmer than crème brûlée, which is baked in the oven in a water bath.

Ingredients — for 6 people

• 500 ml (2 cups) whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 100 g (½ cup) sugar, 30 g (¼ cup) cornstarch
• Zest of 1 lemon, 1 cinnamon stick
• Brown sugar, for the caramelized crust

Step-by-step Spanish crema catalana recipe

1. Infuse the milk with the lemon zest and cinnamon stick over low heat, without boiling.
2. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch until pale.
3. Pour the strained hot milk over this mixture, whisking constantly.
4. Return everything to low heat and thicken, stirring constantly, until you get a coating consistency.
5. Divide the cream among shallow individual dishes, let cool, then refrigerate for several hours.
6. Sprinkle with brown sugar just before serving and caramelize with a hot iron or blowtorch.

Cooking Method

Technique: cooking the cream over low heat until thickened with starch, then a last-minute caramelization of the sugar just before serving.

Traditional equipment: a round metal caramelizing iron heated over a flame, shallow earthenware dishes.

Signs to watch for: caramelize the sugar at the very last moment; left too long, the crust softens against the cream and loses its crackle.

Nutrition, per serving

Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, divided across six servings.

At 200 kcal per serving, crema catalana sits notably lighter than crème brûlée, its French rival in the “who invented the caramelized-sugar custard” debate — the cornstarch thickening here uses milk rather than the heavy cream a crème brûlée custard requires, which keeps both the fat and the calorie count well below the French version’s typical figures.

Economic context

Milk, egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch are all inexpensive pantry staples, which is part of why crema catalana became a widely made home dessert tied to a specific calendar date — Saint Joseph’s Day, March 19th — rather than a restaurant specialty reserved for special occasions.

Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Spain generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.

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