Catalan cream with coffee and cardamom

Start with the coffee shortcrust teaspoons that will accompany the Catalan cream with coffee and cardamom: in a stand mixer (or a large bowl), place softened butter cut into pieces, add sugar 1, and start mixing until you get a frothy mixture. Then add the liquid coffee 2 and the ground coffee 3 and mix well with the beaters.

In a separate small bowl, pour the sifted cocoa powder and flour 4. Mix and pour the mixture together with the other ingredients into the stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric mixer) 5, mix again with the beaters, then continue kneading with the paddle attachment. (If you don't have the paddle attachment, you can finish kneading directly by hand on the work surface). Transfer the dough to the work surface and knead by hand to obtain a homogeneous and pliable dough 6.

Form a dough ball 7 and cover it with plastic wrap 8. Place it in the refrigerator to rest for at least 2 hours. After the necessary time has passed, roll out the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured surface 9 until you achieve a thickness of about 1/4 inch.

Then cut out 15 teaspoons 10, re-kneading and rolling out the dough again until you finish the dough. Place the coffee teaspoons on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper 11 and bake them in a preheated static oven at 340°F for about 20 minutes. After the necessary time, take them out 12 and let them cool slightly before serving them with the Catalan cream.

To prepare the Catalan cream with coffee and cardamom, start with the latter: coarsely crush 3-4 cardamom pods in a mortar (if you don't have one, you can use a kitchen hammer and place the pods between two sheets of parchment paper and place them on a cutting board). Meanwhile, in a bowl, pour the yolks and add half the sugar, work the ingredients with a whisk 2 to obtain a smooth and homogeneous cream. Then pour the milk into a saucepan 3.

Add the remaining sugar 4 and the cornstarch (or potato starch) to the milk and start heating it over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch. Then make the coffee with the moka pot: put cold water, preferably low in calcium, inside the boiler up to the safety valve 5 (otherwise you will get longer coffee). Fill the filter with ground coffee 6.

Level each added teaspoon of coffee by tapping the filter on the table with decisive movements 7 until you reach the edge of the filter. Do not press with the teaspoon, nor make holes and screw the moka pot well 8 (to prevent the coffee from spilling out from the sides while it rises), then place it on a low and steady flame to obtain a rich coffee. As the coffee rises, a dense froth will form 9; we recommend not letting it bubble too long to preserve its aroma and sweetness.

Then turn off the heat, and your coffee to be used in the preparation is ready: stir it directly in the moka pot with a teaspoon to make it more homogeneous 10. Add the crushed cardamom pods and coffee to the milk 11, stir 12, and cook over a low heat until the mixture comes to a boil.

When the cream thickens and is simmering, turn off the heat and pour it, filtering it with a sieve, over the beaten eggs with sugar 13. Mix the compounds 14, then put them back in the saucepan and on the heat for a couple of minutes, always stirring. Then fill 4 ramekins of 160 ml each with the obtained cream 15 and place them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

After the necessary time has passed, remove the cream from the refrigerator and sprinkle each ramekin with brown sugar 16. Then place the coffee and cardamom cream under a grill at the maximum temperature for 5-7 minutes, depending on the oven's power. When the sugar is caramelized 17, take out the Catalan cream with coffee and cardamom and serve it with the coffee teaspoons 18!