Kremas (Cremas)- Recipe and pics included
My brother and his wife came to visit today and she took the last drop of my Kremas. So I had no choice but to make this post today or it wouldn't happen until God knows when ...
I love Kremas. Pure and simple, but every time I look for recipes online (because my mom does not deal with measurements) I can never find a recipe how my mom does it. So, I'm putting the simplest form of mine out there. This is (mostly) how my mom taught me and she makes the best kremas you'll ever taste :)
For those who do not know Kremas is like the official wedding drink of Haitians... People fight for it, hide it, and share it (hehe). It's that goodness that you get on special occasions, during happy times, and oh did I mention that it's mostly sugar and a dash of alcohol? Yeah so that's your under 21 warning lol
Ingredients
meat of 2 coconuts- grated
1/2 gallon of milk
2 cans of condensed milk
2 cans of evaporated milk
4 cups of sugar (see note)
2 Tbsp vanilla
~ nutmeg
~ cinnamon
zest of a lime (optional)
Real Haitian liquor or 153 proof if you cant find it
Instructions
Step 1. Boil the 1/2 gallon of milk along with cinnamon sticks for 15-20 minutes- Let cool completely
Step 2. grate coconut or I suppose you can buy it like that?
Step 3.Put milk in a large bowl and add grated coconut
Strain mixture into another bowl
Step 4. Add sugar- lots of it
Step 5. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and lime zest
Stir the mixture with wooden spoon (my mom swears that the wooden spoon is important) and let mixture sit for a little bit I usually leave it overnight so the sugar can "fonn" which i guess means mostly dissolved
Step 6. Strain mixture one last time
Step 7. Add evaporated milk and then condensed milk
Step 8. Add vanilla and lastly add your liquor and I supposed you can leave it out if you dont drink alcohol but that would defeat the purpose for me lol.
and Voila!
Real Haitian Kremas
This made enough for
So reduce to half if you dont want as much
P.S. I know I promised the recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. It's coming really soon, I just need to get pictures and we'll be set...For real this time :)
meat of 2 coconuts- grated
1/2 gallon of milk
2 cans of condensed milk
2 cans of evaporated milk
4 cups of sugar (see note)
2 Tbsp vanilla
~ nutmeg
~ cinnamon
zest of a lime (optional)
Real Haitian liquor or 153 proof if you cant find it
Instructions
Step 1. Boil the 1/2 gallon of milk along with cinnamon sticks for 15-20 minutes- Let cool completely
Step 2. grate coconut or I suppose you can buy it like that?
Step 3.Put milk in a large bowl and add grated coconut
Strain mixture into another bowl
Stir the mixture with wooden spoon (my mom swears that the wooden spoon is important) and let mixture sit for a little bit I usually leave it overnight so the sugar can "fonn" which i guess means mostly dissolved
Step 6. Strain mixture one last time
Step 7. Add evaporated milk and then condensed milk
and Voila!
Real Haitian Kremas
This made enough for
So reduce to half if you dont want as much
Note: I ended up puttling more sugar than I measured because my mom thought it wasn't "pwes" enough meaning it wasn't thick enough and the sugar is mostly what adds the thickness
So that's it! Hope you enjoyP.S. I know I promised the recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. It's coming really soon, I just need to get pictures and we'll be set...For real this time :)
Good morning,
ReplyDeleteI would love to use your recipe. I am doing a wedding and I an trying to figure out what was the volume of this recipe...I need about 10 gallons....
wow I totally missed your comment! Umm I made a little over 2 pints because the bottles I used to store it were 1 pint each. That's about 20 oz So a gallon would be 6x that. You'll be making a lot! Good luck with the wedding ( I love weddings) and thanks for checking out the recipe.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI just have a few questions on your recipe, hope you can help.
1-Do you use just the regular milk that we buy from the supermarket to boil it?
2-I'm assuming you live in the USA, where do you purchase the real Haitian alcohol? I usually use white rum (barbancourt) to make mine.
3-Does your recipe thicken without lime juice? I was thought that the lime juice is what thickens the kremas.
Hoping to hear from you soon.
Thanks!
Hi there anon, thanks for stopping by
Delete1. yes i live in the US and yes I use regular store bought gallon milk.I'm in Florida and use 2% Publix milk( red). None of that lowfat, skim business lol.
2. In most places, the closest you can find to the Haitian alcool is the 153 proof. I've also used a jamaican one that worked pretty well. I dom't have the name right now but i will update my post if I find it again. It also never hurts to check local Haitian stores if there are any near you.
3. I don't use lime juice and yes it thickens... it's really the sugar...
Wow! I followed your recipe and it came out great!! only difference I added an extra can of coconut milk and the 12oz coconut cream from Goya. It made it really delicous since I couldn't find real coconut in my area. My daughter who was born here made it with your recipe and she enjoy making it. She really felt Haitian and accomplished:))). Merci!!
ReplyDeleteMarylanders!!!
awww Im glad you ladies tried it. My mother make it a bonding time too. It's definitely more fun that way. Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteFrom Marylanders Note:
ReplyDeleteAs part of my kitchen tradition, we always lick the nestle can after we pour the condensed milk. It's a Haitian thing in my home to do. Lastly, after you broiled the milk, make sure you eat the cream on the top, its great too hehe..Ok, my daughter and I who's 15 y/o we also fought for the cream, she refuses the smaller cream. Its one way to have fun in the kitchen with your children.
Happy Holidays to All
Marylanders.....
how many cinnamon sticks and nutmeg?
ReplyDeleteAt your discretion... I put from 4- 6 sticks depending on the sizes. 2 tsp nutmeg
DeleteThanks for the recipe. I remember every christmas, our job was to great the coconut and open the condensed milk not the evaporated, simply we used to find for the can to we could lick it...Lol. when I came in here, it was really hard for me to find the Haitien alcohol. I thank you so much for breaking it down for me step by step.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas and have a prosperous year to all my Haitians folks!!!
thanks! I love to help
DeleteI've been looking for a recipe forever because I cant find cremas in toronto... thanks going to try it
ReplyDeletehope it turned out good!
DeleteI found that Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum gives it a good flavor. I dont have access to coconuts so I use coconut cream. The recipe I use is as followed:
ReplyDelete1 can of evaporated milk
3 cans of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of coconut milk
1 can cream of coconut
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp ground anise star
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 lime zest
1/2 lime juice
1/2 bottle of the liquor mentioned above.
It tastes great but it is not thick. What do you suggest? Should I do a whole lime juice or add sugar or both. Please help
Pipo
BTW what brand/type of liquor is the 153 proof? I tried Barcardi 151 in there and it did not taste good
I just finish making the cremas with your recipe and added coconut rum cream and it tastes excellent. Thanks a bunch and Happy Holidays!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI'm going to try it and I will ad coconut flakes and strained it out
ReplyDeleteYes do and let me know how it turned out!
DeleteThanks n u r beautiful holla
ReplyDeletethank you!
DeleteHello: I m a fan of your truly. I have 2 questions today. I made some kremas, I had some with my family and save some in a bottle. few weeks later when I went to get some from the bottle, it was hard thick. why is that?
ReplyDeletemy second question is can you tell me the recipe and how to prepare (douce lait)? it s a haitian goodies kinda like, douce kokoye or douce pistache, but not.
yes it thickens over time. It's still good though and it's just the top that gets stuck. you need to find something you can push down in the bottle. something like a straw but maybe with more weight? I hardly keep mine for long so I haven't had that problem. I hope it worked out well for you. Thanks for being a fan that made my day :)
Delete