I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but growing up, I certainly enjoyed the many perks of my family owning a Spanish restaurant. Probably top of the list was being able to order anything I wanted from the menu. With each visit I’d try to order a different dish for my main course but dessert would always stay the same.
I’d always have the Natilla. I loved the look burnt sugar topping provoking me to give it a good hard crack and then my spoon surrendering to the velvety custard and sponge finger mix beneath.
I wanted to share with you the Natilla recipe I grew up with so I turned to one of my favourite Spanish cookbooks, The Food and Wines of Spain by Penelope Casas. I was surprised to find that her version of the Natilla was nothing like how we served it in the restaurant. While both desserts were custard based, her version didn’t have the sponge fingers I remembered, nor the burnt sugar topping. I did find in her book however, a recipe for Crema Catalana, which is a custard with a candied sugar coating – very similar to the French creme brulee except that this version was cooked over the stove rather than baked in the oven.
Fantastic! I thought to myself. My version of the Natilla would truly epitomize something that was originally Spanish, modified by my family, and then finally adapted by me for this month’s Kulinarya Cooking Club challenge. Thank you to Ziggy from My Filipino Kitchen and AC from Acdee who have come up with the theme of Filipino-Spanish dishes.
My Mango Natilla starts with a layer of rum soaked sponge fingers and then a rich blanket of a mango infused custard and finally topped with a burnt sugar topping. The technique of infusing the custard with mango was inspired from a recent visit to Etch restaurant in Sydney. This is where I had the most amazing banana creme brulee with a salted peanut butter brittle. I loved the idea of infusing the custard because with every spoonful you get the mango flavour without any of the pulp. The technique for infusing the custard I share with you today is from Bourke Street Bakery’s Cookbook.
This recipe makes two cazuelas.
Mango Natilla
- 350 ml cream
- 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled, sliced
- 40 grams sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- 10 sponge fingers
- 1 tablespoon good quality rum
- 10 grams sugar for the rum
- Sugar for topping
- Put the cream and mangoes in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the mixture boils, remove this from the heat and allow to cool. Tranfer to another container and allow the flavours to infuse overnight.
- The next day, remove the mangoes from the cream and reheat the infused cream over high heat before using and set aside.
- Lay the sponge fingers in the cazuelas. Mix the rum, 10 grams of sugar and 30 ml of water in a container and use a brush to spread over the sponge fingers.
- Place the yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until combined. Place this mixture and the mango cream over a saucepan of simmering water and make sure that the base does not touch the water, otherwise it will curdle. Whisk the mixture until it becomes thick (like a custard), this will take around 15 minutes.
- Pour the mango infused custard over the sponge fingers and allow to cool. Place in the refrigerator and allow to set for one to two hours.
- Top with more sugar and use a blow torch to caramelize the top.
For Thermomix
To make the mango custard in the Thermomix, after step 1, remove the mangoes from the cream and then place the sugar, egg yolks and infused cream in the thermomix at temperature 80c for 9 minutes of speed three with the butterfly attachment.
Lastly: It’s not too late to still enter my Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School giveaway! Open to residents in Australia – win either a $400 class voucher or 10 kilos of chocolates!
This looks amazing! A quick question on the sponge fingers ( they’re also called lady fingers right?); did you use homemade ones, and would you happen to have the recipe? If not, what brand did you buy?
Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Dani – I just used store bought ones.
Cheers
Trissa
Oh my lord…I love mangoes…I’ve never heard of mango natilla before, but certainly looks DELICIOUS!
I like your family’s twist on Natilla (with ladyfingers, mango, and rum). Crema Catalana to Creme Brulee and Natilla to Pots de Creme!
Thanks for sharing.
oh trissa!!!! mango with alcohol (perfect combination)…love it, and anything with sponge fingers I like=)
I really enjoy using the infusion method, gives great flavour. Looks wonderful.
Wow, I love this soooo much!
A delightful & wonderful delicious dessert, I see!
I must make this lovely dessert!!
Your pictures are truly art & very appetizing too!
you had me at rum-soaked sponge cake, but it just got better from there! what a treat. 🙂
Trissa!!! My fellow kababayan! I sooo missed your posts! I’m actually subscribed and been seeing them on my email here and there. Now that I am back, I can finally check it on your blog most of the time. This ones looks sooo good. You know, I have mangoes at home…do you think it will be good if I use the Mexican kind? Can’t wait to try!!! Off to printing!
oooh…. mango, rum and cream … lovely!
Trissa, this mango dessert looks fantastic…creamy and silky…yummie!
I can never resist anything with a burnt sugar top that I can crack open like that. I’m so glad that Filipino cuisine is finding a wider audience now. It’s about time! 😉
This looks so good! I love the sound of the crunchy caramel topping and the custard sounds so yummy, especially infused with mangoes!
Trissa, this looks absolutely heavenly! From the crunchy top to the cakey bottom. And mango! Yum.
I am unfamiliar with the name Natilla, but whatever the name I’m going to make this soon!
at first glance I thought it resembles creme brulee too with the caramelised top. Yours is beautiful. Love your photos!
I have heard of natilla before but not sure I’ve ever had one. And I’m not sure why not since the recipe is so easy. I love that mangoes were used, made this Spanish dish really Filipino 🙂
you’re so lucky, all those yummy, yummy Spanish resto food..heaven! 🙂 the nutilla is very mouth-watering, it’s like creme brulee meets trifle..yum! 🙂
This is also quite different from the natilla my mom used to make. In her case, the lady fingers were placed on top. They would soften after soaking the moisture from the custard. Yummmy! I guess every household had its own version.
I have never heard of that dish before. I can’t wait to try it..
Beautiful recipe Trissa. Impossible to resist the call of such a crunchy top, and what lovely secrets it is hiding..
Oh yum, this looks so delicious. And mango and rum? Right on!
OOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This dessert looks divine my dear! Especially with mango and those sponge fingers! I’m drooling Trissa!
omg!!! Can you pls send this over? pls pls pls???
This looks interesting, like a cross between tiramisu and creme brulee-nice!
This looks absolutely delicious. I will definitely try this soon.
Crema Catalana, creme brulee, whatever you call it, it’s fabulous. And *mango* – I’m swooning. That is such a heavenly-looking dish, Trissa!
this has just replaced creme brulee as my favorite dessert. i will definitely make this soon. thanks trissa.
wow, your family owned a spanish restaurant? that’s so cool! Is that where you picked up cooking too? (I figure I will discover this if I read further into your posts)
this is such a beautiful recipe. i’m not exactly sure where to get sponge fingers though. my supermarkets sell those cream-filled ones for kids. Is there a corresponding recipe to make it homemade?
Hi Judy – you can also use something like a basic sponge or butter cake – it will be fantastic!
WOW! looks really fantastic! First time I’ve heard of this…
yum yum yum!! that looks absolutely delicious!!!
Yummmm that looks amazing Trissa. I love any dessert with mango in it but this one is really stunning.
Yum! I love mango and I love creme brulee – so it must be good! Nice work, Trissa!
This looks delicious! I love mango desserts 🙂
This looks spectacular, Trissa! That hidden layer of ladyfingers at the bottom is genius! This is probably the fastest I’ve ever bookmarked a recipe :).
This sounds fabulous!!! My boyfriend absolutely adores creme brulee so I will have to make this for him and see what he thinks of this variation. He is a bit of a purist, so we will see what he thinks, but I know I would definitely LOVE it! 🙂
Yum what a brilliant idea. That toffee looks sensation and I love the food styling too 🙂
How cool to have your own restaurant at your beck and call! If it was me, I’d become sooooooooo fat! This is such a beautiful desert, please save me some 🙂
HOpe you are having a wonderful weekend.
*kisses* HH
Trissa, that first photo stopped me in my tracks!! What a fabulous dessert! and, I love the way you infused the mango flavor. I have to try that technique…
P.S: Very envious that you had all the access to awesome food in your childhood :)))
WOW ! is all i can say…looks unbelievable
This is wonderful! Thanks for sharing. I’ll get nummy to try this out soon.
So, you do not bake this? You just pour the cream over the lady fingers and refrigerate until set and then add the sugar and torch it just before serving? I just want to be sure. It sounds really delicious – and very very rich for only 2 (OK, I am still in!). And, can you use the mango for something else once it is removed from the cream the next day?
🙂
Valerie
Hi Val – yes you pour the cream and refrigerate to get it to set… no baking! Using the thermomix makes it much easier too! The cazuelas I used were big – I could only finish half but my husband ate 1.5! On the mangoes – yes I made a mango shake after…
This is something quite new to me…at first sight, I thought it looked like a classic creme brulee with mangoes…the 2nd look, I thought this is a creative Italian Tiramisu..with custard and mango….sounds even better!
I love creme brulee and this Spanish version sounds so delicious too.
Trissa, what brand of rum would you recommend?
Does look like creme brulee! So devilish good.
I haven’t heard of Natilla and thanks for the kulinarya club, I have learnt so much of new dishes from your country. I am imagine how wonderful this dessert will taste! I am eager to make it soon.
It looks lovely and reminds me of a cross between Tiramisu and creme brulee. I love the mango flavours and think a topping of lime zest would be wonderful
It’s like a cross between creme brulee and tiramisu (Spanish & Italian) but still evokes the true cultural sense of being a Filipino. Plus, it looks so gorgeous!!!
What a fantastic Spanish/Filipino dessert. I have never heard of this until now. I love mangoes and this is certainly a fantastic way of using them in a gorgeous dessert.
My mouth is watering, Trissa. I love flan or creme caramel. I’ve made leche flan before but have not tried infusing it with any flavor. Mango sounds wonderful. I am definitely trying this recipe out.
Jun
Trissa, what an interesting recipe! I have never had Natila before… I will need to bookmark this – gosh, I have been bookmarking a lot of recipes lately!
This sounds amazing and looks it too
How wonderful to grow up eating in your family’s Spanish restaurant, getting to taste all of the wonderful dishes!
Gosh, this sounds wonderful. I love Filo influences to Spanish foods & have only every tasted this divine mix a couple of times …. thanks so much for the recipe.