Orange-Vanilla Crema Catalana with a Double Burnt-Sugar Crust

Method

1. Wash the orange and lemon and peel off strips of the coloured zest only with a vegetable peeler. Put the milk, cream, both peels and the cinnamon stick in a 16 cm saucepan over medium heat. When bubbles appear at the edge, turn off the heat, cover and infuse for 20 min; the longer infusion gives a deeper citrus flavour.

   Add in this stepWhole milk 200 mlDouble cream (heavy cream, 35% fat or more) 50 mlStrip of orange peel (orange part only) 1Strip of lemon peel (yellow part only) 1Cinnamon stick 1

   medium heat

2. In a bowl, whisk the yolks, custard sugar, cornflour and salt for 2 min until pale and completely free of lumps.

   Add in this stepEgg yolks 2Caster sugar (for the custard) 45 gCornflour (cornstarch) 8 gSalt 1 pinch

3. Strain the infused milk through a fine sieve to remove the peels and cinnamon, and return it to the pan. Warm it over medium heat for 1 min until steaming again, then pour it onto the yolks a ladleful at a time, whisking constantly. Pour everything back into the pan.

   medium heat

4. Cook over low heat for 6 min, stirring nonstop with a silicone spatula in a figure-of-eight across the bottom. With a thermometer, aim for 82 to 84 °C; once it has thickened and one big bubble rises, stir for 30 seconds more so the starch is fully cooked. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

   Add in this stepVanilla extract ½ tsp

   low heat

5. Pass the custard through the fine sieve once more and divide it between ×2 shallow dishes. Tap the dishes on the counter to release air bubbles and level the surface. Press plastic wrap onto the surface, cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 8 h (overnight). It must be very cold so the torch doesn't melt the custard.

6. Cut the top and bottom off the orange, slice away the peel and white pith, then cut between the membranes to free the segments. Blot the custard dry, sprinkle on half the crust sugar in a thin layer and torch it to amber. Let it cool for 30 seconds, add the rest of the sugar and torch again to a deeper amber (about 3 min in total). The double layer cracks loudly under the spoon. Serve right away with the orange segments.

   Add in this stepCaster sugar (for the crust) 2 tbspOrange (for segments to serve) ½