Sabbath in the Kitchen - January 7
Sabbath in the Kitchen
Cremas
A family recipe shared by Carmelle Beaugelin
Cremas (Kremas or Cremasse) is a popular drink in Haiti and is served regularly at social events and during the holidays. The beverage possesses a creamy consistency similar to a thick milkshake, eggnog, or a thicker Puerto Rican Coquito, and varies from off-white to beige in color. Cremas is a great holiday dessert drink alongside another traditional Haitian dish, soup Joumou, which has been eaten since the victory of Haitian independence against France in 1804. Traditionally, all ingredients are added over very low heat to allow for the melding of flavors, strained, and allowed to sit and cool for 4-6 hours, then finished with fresh lime with rum added in last.
ingredients
1 can of unsweetened condensed milk (or vegan condensed milk)
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk (or vegan condensed milk)
1 can of cream of coconut
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
(or a cinnamon stick over heat)1 teaspoon star anise extract (or star anise over heat)
1 teaspoon of almond extract
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of lime juice (zest optional)
1 cup of rum (for authentic flavor, use dark Barbancourt Haitian Rum) or 1-3 tbsp of rum flavoring
(for a non-alcoholic version)
instructions
In a bowl, mix 1 can of unsweetened condensed milk and 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk. Add the cream of coconut and mix the ingredients thoroughly. Add vanilla and almond extracts, star anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the mixture. Add the lime juice to the mixture to slightly thicken it. Finally, add the dark rum into the bowl and mix thoroughly. Let the ingredients sit for a few minutes, then use a funnel to pour the mixture into bo!les. The mix should fill a 750 ml bo!le. Adjust the sweetened condensed milk to your preferred sweetness. It is best served over ice, chilled. Enjoy!
9 Soup joumou is a pumpkin-based soup. Prior to independence, Haitian slaves were forbidden from eating the soup. Since the revolution, the soup has become a symbol of freedom and is often enjoyed on New Year’s Day.