A dense Andalusian set custard made almost entirely of egg yolk and sugar syrup, with a layer of caramel beneath. Unlike flan it contains no milk: yolks are blended with a hot sugar syrup, poured over caramel in a mould, and baked gently in a water bath until firm. Turned out, it has a glossy amber caramel top and a smooth, deeply rich yellow body. It is served chilled in small portions, its sweetness intense. The name, heaven's bacon, refers to its fatty look and golden colour.
Tocino de cielo is a convent sweet from Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, traced to the Convento del Espíritu Santo, whose nuns are credited with the recipe; the convent dates to the 14th century, though a precise date for the dessert itself is uncertain. Its existence is tied to the city's sherry trade: wineries fined their wine with egg whites, leaving the convents a glut of yolks, which the nuns turned into yolk-rich sweets to avoid waste and raise funds. From Jerez the dessert spread across Spain and is now made nationwide.
The texture is dense and silky, firmer and richer than flan, almost like a set sweet custard with no graininess. The flavour is pure egg yolk and sugar, very sweet, with a faint caramel bitterness from the amber top cutting the richness. It is cool and smooth on the tongue and meant to be eaten in small squares, since a little goes a long way. The caramel pools around the base as a thin syrup. Served well chilled, the body slices clean and the contrast of dark caramel and golden custard shows.
The set comes entirely from egg yolk proteins, with no milk and no flour. As the custard bakes, the yolk proteins coagulate and trap the sugar syrup into a firm, smooth gel; the very high yolk-to-liquid ratio is what makes the body so dense and rich. A gentle water bath is essential — it holds the temperature low and even so the proteins set slowly without boiling, which would curdle them and leave holes. The hot syrup is whisked into the yolks without beating in air, so the custard stays smooth, and the caramel base both flavours it and lets it release cleanly from the mould.
Variations
The basic recipe rarely changes, but the sugar syrup may be flavoured with lemon peel, a cinnamon stick, or vanilla, and in Jerez it is sometimes scented with a little of the local sherry. It is baked in one tray and cut into squares or set in small individual moulds. It is close kin to other Spanish yolk sweets born of wine fining and convent thrift, such as the yemas de Santa Teresa from Ávila, which are simply yolk and sugar rolled into balls.
On the Palate
Where Tocino de Cielo sits in the Spanish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 110 min
Make a caramel from sugar and a little water, cook to a golden amber, and pour into the mould to coat the base.
- 210 min
Boil sugar and water into a syrup and let it cool slightly so it will not scramble the yolks.
Watch outCool the sugar syrup slightly before it meets the yolks — pour it in scalding and it scrambles them instead of setting smooth.
- 35 min
Whisk egg yolks smooth, then slowly pour in the warm syrup, stirring gently without beating in air.
Watch outStir the warm syrup into the yolks gently, without beating in air — the set comes purely from yolk protein, and trapped bubbles leave holes in the smooth gel.
- 43 min
Strain the mixture and pour it over the set caramel in the mould.
- 540 min
Bake in a water bath at a low oven until just set with a slight wobble in the centre.
Watch outBake in a water bath at low heat until just set with a slight wobble — the gentle even heat sets it slowly; too hot and it curdles and pits.
- 6240 min
Cool, chill thoroughly, then turn out and cut into small squares to serve.
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