0

Tocino de Cielo

<p>Tocino de Cielo is a dessert that is a tradition in Southern Spain. It is very similar to flan, especially in appearance, but the two desserts are made with very different components. A flan is made with whole eggs, and milk or cream (usually both), while tocino de cielo is made only with egg yolks, sugar and water. That might actually sound too simple, but this combination of ingredients leads to an extremely light and tender custard &ndash; much lighter than a traditional flan or creme caramel &ndash; with a fantastically smooth mouth feel.</p> <p>The name actually means Bacon from Heaven &ndash; although it contains no bacon &ndash; and there are a variety of stories that try to describe how the name came to be. The dessert itself originated in Jerez de la Fronteta, a city in Andalucia that specializes in sherry production, and egg whites were used to clarify the sherry. This led to a surplus of yolks available for cooking. This custard was perfect for using up a whole bunch of egg yolks in one dish.</p> <p>The dish originated as a way to use up leftover egg yolks and is still is a wonderful way to put leftover egg yolks to good use. It is also a good way to create a surplus of egg whites for angel food cake and meringues, because these custards are so heavenly that you&rsquo;ll want to make them on a regular basis.</p>