At the restaurant Marichu, we offer this sweet, liquid custard as a dessert in itself, served in small custard cups. Butnatillasis also used in countless Basque recipes as a sauce. Although we in the Basque Country claim this sauce as our own, the French make a similar sauce and call itcrème anglaise— thereby crediting the English as its inventors.
[This is an ingredient in the recipe forAlmond Tart.]
我ngredients
Makes 5 to 6 cups; serves 6
Step 1
我n a saucepan, combine the cream and cinnnamon sticks, and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the cream is well infused with the cinnamon. Set the pan aside so the cream can cool.
Step 2
我n a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until they are well mixed. Add the cream and cinnamon sticks, and whisk well.
Step 3
Heat 1 to 2 inches of water in the bottom pan of a double boiler, and transfer custard mixture to the top pan, or set the bowl over a saucepan containing 1 to 2 inches of hot water. Bring the water to a boil, and cook the sauce, stirring constantly, for about 30 minutes or until it thickens, adding more hot water to the bottom pan if necessary. Remove the top pan or the bowl from over the hot water, and let the custard cool.
Step 4
Strain the cooled custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass or ceramic container, and refrigerate the natillas for at least 4 hours, until it is cool. Stir before serving, adding a little more heavy cream if necessary to smooth the natillas. Divide it among six custard cups or transfer it to a pitcher to use as a sauce. Serve the natillas sprinkled with cinnamon.
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Reviews (11)
Back to TopThe taste of this custard is absolute heaven. I used 1 vanilla bean instead of the extract. I would recommend cooking it a little longer than the recipe says, as it turned out a little runny and not "custardy" as I had anticipated.
Anonymous
New Mexico
12/24/2011
Possible modifications when cooking with toddler: Came out splendidly when I stirred for 15 min instead of 30 and I did not strain through cheese cloth. I did add vanilla bean. Awesome.
SnacksInSagebrush
Rural Eastern Oregon
11/13/2011
我made this for a Spanish themed potluck and everyone loved it!! The cinnamon flavour was amazing. The almond cake was also very good, but not as good as the Natillas! I would definitely recommend this recipe
Anonymous
Edmonton
10/4/2010
Delicious!! It goes perfect with the almond cake or even by itself...it is funny, but even though I'm spanish I did not have this recipe. It is definetely authentic and it tastes exactly as I remember.
mapi
Spain
5/28/2005
我liked this dessert- easy and different. If you like cream and cinnamon, you can do no better.
Anonymous
San Diego, CA
1/19/2005
我have made this several times to rave reviews.
Anonymous
New Haven, CT
12/29/2004
我served small pots of this with fresh raspberries to a group of girlfriends at a birthday celebration recently. The tartness of the fruit complemented the sweetness of the custard perfectly - I've never seen so many women in heaven at one time!
Debra Shepherd
London, England
3/2/2004
My grandparents came to america from the mountains of Spain, and so Ive been ejoying natillas since I was born... but recently moved to college without the recipe. This one comes very close and is oh so good.
Sean
NYC
8/30/2002
我am a longtime fan of the spectacular Natillas at El Faro in NYC. This is almost as good. It takes longer to thicken than suggested, but keep at it. I also opted not to strain, which was a minor but not fatal mistake.
Anonymous
Vashon Island, WA
12/24/2001
Took a lot of time and pot watching, but it's a stunningly delicious custard sauce!
Anonymous
Palo Alto
2/17/2001
This was not a difficult thing to make (just took some time and constant attention); it really complemented well the tarta de almendras. It's worth trying. I had never made custard before and I was happy with how well it went.
Wendy
Minneapolis, MN
2/6/2000
