Crema Catalana and Macedonia Fruit Salad

Crema Catalana

1. Dissolve cornstarch in 200 ml milk. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Add starch milk and stir well. Bring 650 ml milk to the boil, add the lemon zest and pour it over the egg yolk while stirring. Pour egg milk into the saucepan again. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the starch binds and a thick cream is formed. Take off the heat just before the cream starts to boil. Place in a cold water bath to interrupt the cooking process. Distribute in 5 bowls (150 ml each) and allow to cool. Sprinkle with 5 tablespoons of sugar and caramelize with the bunsen burner or a branding iron.

Macedonia fruit salad

1. Squeeze the juice from 2 oranges (approx. 200 ml). Put orange juice, lemon juice, sugar and cloves in a saucepan and let simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Set aside and let cool. Pour the cooled syrup through a fine kitchen sieve into a large bowl. Peel the remaining oranges so that the white skin is completely removed, cut out the fillets from between the separating skins and add them to the syrup. Quarter the apple and pear lengthways, remove the core and cut into pieces approx. 1 cm in size. Peel the baby pineapple, remove the brown eyes, quarter the pineapple lengthways, remove the stalk. Quarter and dice in approx. 1 cm (makes approx. 400 g). Peel the kiwis, quarter them lengthways and cut into large pieces. Cut the banana into approx. 1 cm thick slices. Wash, drain, clean and cut the strawberries in half (or quarter). Add fruit to the syrup and mix gently. Pluck lemon balm leaves from the stems. Serve the fruit salad garnished with lemon balm.