Crema de fruta

Four layers built in a dish and set with a clear gelatine top poured cool, never warm.

Egg. Not vegetarian — contains gelatine.

Ingredients

custard

• 500 ml whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 100 g caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons cornflour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

to build

• 1 plain sponge cake, about 300 g, in slices
• 800 g tinned fruit cocktail, drained
• 300 ml of the fruit syrup
• 15 g gelatine
• 200 ml double cream, whipped

Method

1. THE GELATINE LAYER GOES ON COOL, and this is where this dessert is usually ruined. Warm jelly poured over the top melts the custard beneath it and the two marble together into a pink mess. It must be cooled to the point where it is still liquid but no longer warm to the back of the hand -- about 20 minutes standing -- and then poured over the back of a spoon so it does not land in one spot.
2. Custard first. Slake the cornflour in a little of the cold milk, then whisk in the yolks and sugar.
3. Heat the rest of the milk to just below a simmer, pour it onto the yolk mixture whisking, then return it to the pan.
4. Low heat, stirring constantly, 5 to 6 minutes, until it is very thick -- thicker than a pouring custard, thick enough to hold a line. Vanilla in. Cool with film on the surface.
5. Drain the fruit well and KEEP 300 ml of the syrup. Press the fruit in a sieve; wet fruit between layers is what makes the sponge collapse.
6. BUILD IT IN THIS ORDER in a 25 cm glass dish: sponge slices in a tight single layer, then all the custard, spread level, then the fruit in a single even layer, pressed gently into the custard.
7. Chill 1 hour, uncovered, so the custard firms before anything liquid touches it. Skipping this is the other way the top layer sinks.
8. Soften the gelatine in 4 tablespoons of cold water, then dissolve it in the warmed fruit syrup. Strain it.
9. Cool it 20 minutes, then pour it over the fruit through a spoon.
10. Chill 6 hours, or overnight. Serve with the whipped cream separately rather than on top, so the jelly layer stays clear.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Philippines · All recipes