Caramelised Torrija with Idiazabal Cheese Ice Cream

55 mins

6 people

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

55 mins

Torrija is an old Spanish dessert typically served during Easter. It’s peasant origins are debated, although there is documented evidence of the dish as early as the 15^th century in a book by Juan Del Encina, who recommends torrijas as a post-pregnancy recovery food! Its link to Easter is not clear, although many suggest that torrijas began to get served during Easter due to the large amount of bread available as people did not eat meat during holy week. Torrija is traditionally made from thick slices of stale bread dipped in a mixture of milk, eggs and sugar, before frying it on both sides until golden brown and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. I like to make my torrija with brioche instead of standard white bread, it makes the torrija more special. In this recipe, I pair my torrija with some homemade idiazabal cheese ice cream, a popular Basque cheese made from ewes milk.

Ingredients
Method

For the torrija:
400g brioche loaf
400ml of fresh whole milk
100ml whipping cream
1 cinnamon stick
Peel of one orange
3 large free-range egg yolks
100g caster sugar, plus extra for frying
Unsalted butter for frying
For the idiazabal ice cream:
400ml double cream
200g idiazabal cheese, finely grated
200g caster sugar
6 egg yolks

For the idiazabal ice cream, gently warm the cheese in a sauce pan until it starts to melt, add the cream and mix well until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat and allow the milk to cool down for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and thick. Fine strain the milk into the whisked eggs and place the mixture into a sauce pan on a gentle heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon without allowing the mixture to boil until a custard of single cream consistency is achieved, about 5 minutes. Allow to mixture to cool down, once cold, mix well and pour into the ice cream maker churning the mix for around 20 minutes or following the guidelines of your ice cream maker.
For the torrija, gently heat the milk, cinnamon stick and orange peel until warm. Remove from the heat, cover with cling film and allow the milk to infuse for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar, cream and strained milk and dip the brioche slices on both sides until well coated on the mixture.
In a medium size frying pan, melt some butter on a gentle heat and dust some caster sugar before frying each torrija on both sides until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Be careful of frying them on a high heat because the butter and brioche will burn very quickly. Remove from the frying pan and drain on some kitchen paper. For the extra caramel crunch, dust each torrija with some more caster sugar and place under the grill or use a blow torch to melt the sugar and make a thick caramel coating.
Serve the torrija warm with a scoop of idiazabal ice cream.

Ingredients

For the torrija:
400g brioche loaf
400ml of fresh whole milk
100ml whipping cream
1 cinnamon stick
Peel of one orange
3 large free-range egg yolks
100g caster sugar, plus extra for frying
Unsalted butter for frying
For the idiazabal ice cream:
400ml double cream
200g idiazabal cheese, finely grated
200g caster sugar
6 egg yolks

Method

For the idiazabal ice cream, gently warm the cheese in a sauce pan until it starts to melt, add the cream and mix well until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat and allow the milk to cool down for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and thick. Fine strain the milk into the whisked eggs and place the mixture into a sauce pan on a gentle heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon without allowing the mixture to boil until a custard of single cream consistency is achieved, about 5 minutes. Allow to mixture to cool down, once cold, mix well and pour into the ice cream maker churning the mix for around 20 minutes or following the guidelines of your ice cream maker.
For the torrija, gently heat the milk, cinnamon stick and orange peel until warm. Remove from the heat, cover with cling film and allow the milk to infuse for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar, cream and strained milk and dip the brioche slices on both sides until well coated on the mixture.
In a medium size frying pan, melt some butter on a gentle heat and dust some caster sugar before frying each torrija on both sides until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Be careful of frying them on a high heat because the butter and brioche will burn very quickly. Remove from the frying pan and drain on some kitchen paper. For the extra caramel crunch, dust each torrija with some more caster sugar and place under the grill or use a blow torch to melt the sugar and make a thick caramel coating.
Serve the torrija warm with a scoop of idiazabal ice cream.

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Chef's Profile

Javier De La Hormaza

Javier is a Basque born, trained chef and hospitality professional, owner of Basco Fine Foods, a Spanish food and drink importer based in Yorkshire. He regularly runs client food and drink events around the country and he is a course tutor at Hartingtons of Bakewell cookery school. Javier's passion lies on bringing quality Spanish ingredients and recipes to as many people as possible.

Twitter: @bascofinefoods
Instagram: @mrbasco