Catalan recipes: Desserts - Canet-en-Roussillon

Venus arm

The arm of Venus is a typical Catalan pastry, also called "Gypsy arm" for its resemblance to a tanned forearm.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

125g flour
1 pinch salt
80g sugar
4 eggs
½ sachet yeast
1 lemon zest
60g melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven thermostat to 7.

Melt the butter gently in a bain-marie.
In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar vigorously.
Stir in the flour, lifting the dough well, then the butter.
Butter the mould and line with pastry.
Place in a medium oven for 10 minutes. Remove when golden brown.
Place a damp cloth on the table and turn out the cake.
Spread with the crème pâtissière or apricot jam, then roll up the cake using the tea towel.
Slide onto a serving dish and dust with powdered sugar.

Making caramel without browning too much

In 1 saucepan, pour 80 g of sugar + 2 tablespoons of water (30 ml) Stir.
Heat over medium heat until caramel forms (4 min).
For a more liquid caramel, add a few drops of lemon juice at the end of cooking.

Preparing the cream

Boil 1 l milk + 150 g caster sugar in 1 saucepan
Add the seeds from the split vanilla pod + Zest your lemon over the milk
Leave to infuse for 30 min - Warm the milk
Break and beat 8 eggs in a bowl
Pour over the warm milk a little at a time, whisking briskly.
Pour the caramel into the mould
Pour the cream into the flan tin
Bake 40 min in 180° bain-marie oven
Neither the cream nor the bain-marie should boil.
Stick a knitting needle in it if it holds on its own. It's done!
Leave the Pa d'Ous to cool in its mould - set aside in the fridge.
Before serving the Pa d'Ous, soak the mold in boiling water for 30 sec. to remove from the mold.

Pa d'ous

Or "Pain d'oeuf" (egg loaf), it was the most popular family Sunday dessert before being dethroned by crème Catalane. But it remains one of the Catalans' favorite desserts.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes