Irresistible Tocino De Cielo Recipe from Spain - Visit Southern Spain (2024)

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be in heaven? Well, with this Spanish dessert at least you will be able to taste it.

We are talking about the tocino de cielo, one of the most famous Spanish dessert recipes that you can find.

Keep scrolling down this article to learn how to make it, with some extra tips on storing and serving.

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Background of the Dish

The tocino de cielo is not only one of the most easy-to-make desserts from Spain but also it has one of the most interesting stories behind its origin.

The tocino de cielo was created in Cadiz (Andalusia) after a factory that produced vino de Jerez needed to make something with the leftover egg yolks (that they had for using the whites on the wine).

They entrusted this task to the nuns of a convent in the region, and they created this dish with the leftover egg yolks, water, and sugar.

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Things You’ll Need for Tocino De Cielo

The ingredients are what make this tocino de cielo stand out from other Spanish traditional desserts, you just need eggs, water, and white sugar.

It is better to make it in ramekins or small flan molds (it makes the serving process easier), but you can use a large flanera too.

Ingredients

For the tocino de cielo mix

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (125ml) water
• 1 1/4 cup (250gr) sugar

For the caramel

• 1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

How to Make Tocino De Cielo – Step by Step Guide

1. To start making the tocino de cielo recipe you have to heat a saucepan with the water and sugar listed for the tocino de cielo mix.

2. Now mix it with a wooden spoon from time to time until you get a half-string syrup, it should take about 12 minutes. Set aside.

3. After that, beat the yolks together with the egg.

4. Then gradually add the syrup (which must be cold by that time) to the egg mixture, mixing at low speed with an electric mixer or by hand with a whisk.

5. For the next step on this sweet and easy tocino recipe, pass the mixture through a strainer to remove any lumps, and set aside.

6. Now you can prepare the caramel with water and sugar. If you want it to be a liquid caramel, add a few more tablespoons of water.

7. After that, pour the caramel into the individual flan trays (you can use ramekins or stainless steel flan mold) and then pour the mixture.

8. Cook the tocino de cielo dessert in a bain-marie at 180º for about 30 minutes. You will know the Spanish dessert is done once you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

9. For the final step, let it cool at room temperature and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Serve the tocino de cielo cold.

Substitution of Ingredients

The ingredients for tocino de cielo are super easy to find (you just need water, eggs, and sugar), so there isn’t much room for change.

However, you could use brown sugar instead of white sugar, although it will have a more bitter flavor.

For this sweet tocino recipe, you can also add flavorings, like vanilla extract, cinnamon, or anything you like.

Other similar Spanish desserts like this one are the classic Spanish flan, easy crema catalana, or the Spanish orange flan.

For autumn you can try the tasty pumpkin flan cake and for winter holidays go with the yemas de Santa Teresa.

Tips on Serving Tocino De Cielo

The tocino de cielo is a fan favorite among the easy Spanish desserts because it is also super simple to serve it.

If you prepared it in the ramekins or individual molds, just remove them after the cooling process (about 2 to 5 hours) and place the tocino de cielo on small plates to serve.

If the caramel solidified, you can heat the bottom of the molds with hot water to make it easier to remove the dessert.

This traditional Spanish dessert is served by itself, but you can add whipped cream, dulce de leche, or even Nutella as some extra toppings.

Chopped and toasted nuts always go well with Spanish desserts, and you can add them here too.

How to Store Tocino De Cielo

Similar to what happens with other authentic Spanish desserts like the crema catalana or Spanish flan, you can’t store the tocino de cielo for too long.

It can last up to 3 days in the fridge, and you have to cover the top of the ramekins or molds with plastic wrap or a clean plastic bag so it doesn’t form a crust.

Like we said before, most of the traditional Spanish desserts that have this type of creamy texture or custard base can’t be frozen, and the same happens with the tocino de cielo.

Recipe Card: Tocino De Cielo