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Lèche Crema
1041. Beat up three eggs, leaving out two whites, add to them a pint of new milk, and mix very carefully a table-spoonful of flour, with a little finely grated lemon-peel; boil this over a slow fire, constantly stirring it. Prepare a shallow dish, with some ratafia cakes at the bottom soaked in brandy ana sherry, or covered with preserve; then, when the crema is boiled pretty thick, pour it over the cakes. To be sent to table cold.
A flour-thickened boiled custard poured over soaked almond biscuits — essentially a trifle with a pastry-cream base rather than a plain egg custard. It comes together in about fifteen minutes and needs several hours' chilling.
- The eggsThree eggs with two whites removed means one whole egg plus two yolks. The extra yolks enrich the custard; the discarded whites can go into meringue or an omelette.
- A pint of new milkThis is a British Imperial pint, 20 fl oz or about 2 1/2 US cups. "New milk" is fresh whole milk straight from the cow — use whole milk, not skimmed.
- Slake the flour firstA tablespoon of flour stirred straight into eggs and milk will lump. Whisk the flour into a few spoonfuls of the cold milk to a smooth paste, then combine with the rest.
- The hinge: the flour must boilUnlike a plain egg custard, this one has to reach a genuine simmer or the flour tastes raw and pasty. The starch also protects the yolks from curdling, so bring it up steadily over medium-low heat, stirring into the corners of the pan, and let it bubble for a minute once thick.
- Ratafia cakesSmall, hard almond macaroons, sold in Britain as ratafia biscuits; Italian amaretti are the closest widely available substitute. They should be dampened with the brandy and sherry, not drowned — a tablespoon or two of each over a single layer is enough.
- Lemon peelGrate only the yellow zest. Better still, steep a couple of wide pared strips in the milk as it heats and lift them out before thickening, which gives a cleaner perfume than grated peel suspended in the finished cream.
- Cooling and settingPour the hot crema over the biscuits at once, press a sheet of cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, and chill for several hours. With only a tablespoon of flour to the pint it will thicken a little further as it cools, but remains a pouring-to-spooning cream rather than a firm set.
- YieldThe pint of milk makes enough for about four small servings; the recipe specifies only 'a shallow dish' and gives no capacity.