CREMA DE FRUTA

Creama de Fruta is a rich and flavorful dessert found in every Filipino home for special occasions or Sunday family gatherings. In fact, the reason I made this now with a pasta dish was for my simple birthday meal shared with my family.

Luscious and creamy as the name implies, crema de fruta literally translates to 'fruit cream'. It is originally a favorite Spanish cream dessert made of layers of creamy custard or flan with vanilla, fluffy sponge cake, crema (made from smooth condensed milk and milk cream or whipped cream) and fruta (canned or fresh fruit slices) arranged on top.

The Spanish tradition of serving custard and cream as dessert goes as far back as ancient Rome. Crema found its way into Spain where it became a national favorite throughout the centuries.

Spaniards are known for being lovers of sweet custard (different variations of flan de leche) made with caramelized sugar. They are also fond of mixing fresh or canned fruits with creamy desserts to give it a tangy twist.

Today there are many variations of crema de fruta such as the one I made here. It is basically made of layers of graham crackers or crushed biscuits, milk, cream and fruits.

Sometimes if I want to be a little fancy and true to the original recipe, I use layers of my basic sponge cake, eggless leche flan for custard, fruit cocktail, mango or peach slices, fresh strawberries (or mixture of all) and gelatin on top.

Ingredients:

1 pack graham crackers (220 g)

1 pack all purpose cream (250 ml)

1 pack unflavored jelly mix powder (25 g)

1 big can condensed milk (300 ml)

1 big can peach slices or fruit cocktail (850 g)

4 Tbsp sugar

4 c water

Procedure:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine condensed milk and all purpose cream. Mix well. Set aside.

2. Arrange pieces of graham crackers in a baking pan. Spread milk-cream mixture on top of the graham crackers. Repeat the layers until all crackers and milk mixture are used up.

3. Arrange peach slices of fruit cocktail on top.

4. Prepare gelatin topping: in a sauce pan, pour 4 c water. Add 4 Tbsp sugar and dissolve the sugar. Gradually sprinkle jelly powder. Stir constantly to avoid lumps then bring to a boil. Just before boiling point, pour gelatin over arranged peach slices. Allow to set. Chill and serve.

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