Where it comes from
Bayárcal and Paterna del Río · recipe from a Berja family
It is eaten cold, by the spoonful: a layer of sponge or madeleines soaked in syrup and, on top, a cream of milk, egg, ground almond and wheat starch — cornflour today — dusted with cinnamon. It belongs to the custard family, with almond as its signature, and that is why it tastes of the sierra.
It is typical of Bayárcal and Paterna del Río, high in the Almerian Alpujarra. The recipe in circulation today was collected more than forty years ago from a family in Berja, still measured in ounces and cuartillos, and spread thanks to the first Líder Alpujarra programme; the current version is by the cook Alejandro Sánchez.
It is a home dessert, rarely seen on restaurant menus: if you are offered some in Bayárcal or Paterna, don't pass it up. It is made all year round, whenever there are almonds and the will, and the recipe is easy to repeat in any kitchen.
What it is made with
- Milk
- Egg
- Wheat starch or cornflour
- Ground almonds
- Sugar
- Sponge cake or madeleines
- Syrup
- Cinnamon
Underlined ingredients link to Local produce.
How it is made at home
- Make a light syrup and soak a layer of sponge or madeleines with it in the bottom of the dish.
- Dissolve the starch in a little cold milk.
- Heat the rest of the milk with the sugar and ground almonds.
- Add the yolks and the dissolved starch, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens.
- Pour the cream over the sponge and let it cool.
- Dust with cinnamon before serving well chilled.