Brennti Grem, this evokes those Sundays when everybody gathered around the table in my grandmother Nani’s house, the room served as sitting room and dining room at the same time, and with everyone around it nearly burst and I had to squeeze between the big green tiled oven and my uncle’s back to get out. Lunch was quite a thing because we’re a chatty family and never at loss for words and we children often wished those grown ups would talk less in order to eat faster, as we were rather busy children and invariably had very serious plans on how to spend our afternoons. Dessert thus was a blessing twofold, for not only was it the best part of the meal, but equally marked the ordeal of sitting still and letting the grown ups talk to be over soon.

Some say that men married for a good Brennti Grem. Love goes through the stomach, as we say in my language, and a collection of nice family recipe, paired with according skill, secured many an average girl a remarkable advantage at the village fete in the old days. Alas, modern times have made proper cooking a hobby for the refined and a curse for the disciplined but even considering this, Brennti Grem still is a corker. 

That’s caramel cream, and one of my childhood classics, grandmother Nani made it to perfection, and it’s very simple, the only important thing is that you get good cream, like really nice cream, happy cows and happy farmer kind of nice cream, and I promise it will turn out divine. And it’s ok to make too much of Brennti Grem, I remember very well the big bowl that miraculously emptied itself to show the painted hen at the bottom in no time. 

What you’ll need

Quantities rendered will suffice for two persons, though it’s possible also to eat it all yourself.

• 100g sugar
• 1.5dl fresh milk
• 1.5dl thick fat cream
• A teaspoon of flour
• Two egg yolks

How to cook it

Caramelise the sugar at medium temperature. Add the milk and cream as soon as the sugar is a deep gold. Add the flour and whisk while bringing the milk to rise. 

In a separate bowl, mix the yolks until they are creamy white and pour the caramel-milk-cream over them while continuing to whisk. Transfer the mass back to the pan and heat again. Immediately take off the heat when the crème thickens. 

Transfer to a serving bowl and cover the surface with plastic foil in order to avoid a skin forming. Cool at room temperature and then for four hours minimum in the fridge. 

How to eat it

After a nice lunch, when you are comfortably well fed and just need that extra deliciousness of a hint of sweetness to balance your palate.