Many years ago, a Haitian coworker shared with me her family recipe for cremas (also spelled kremas). Cremas, sometimes called Cremasse, is the go-to holiday season drink. This drink is similar to Puerto Rican coquito and is perfect for adult holiday social events.
Why you'll love this classic holiday drink
- Can be made far in advance.
- Great cocktail for your holiday parties
- Has a great shelf life, lasting upto 6 month in the refrigerator.
- Makes for a great Christmas time present.
Ingredients for this delicious haitian cremas
- Evaporated Milk
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Cream of Coconut Milk
- Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- Lime zest
- Lime juice
- Cinnamon sticks
- Star Anise
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond extract
- Salt
- Nutmeg
- Haitian rum (I used Haitian Rhum Barbancourt)
Instructions for this Haitian Kremas Recipe
In a dutch oven over low heat, add your evaporated milk, condensed milk, coconut cream, lime zest, cinnamon, star anise and coconut milk.
Add in the fresh lime juice, almond extract, vanilla extract, nutmeg and salt. Allow to simmer at low heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
Remove the Haitian cremasse from the heat and stir in your choice of rum.
Using a funnel and strainer, pour in cremas into a large glass bottle or carafe. Place in the refrigerator and allow to chill.
Before serving, give the bottle a good shake and serve over ice. If desired, garnish with star anise and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.
Variations and Substitutions for this Haitian Cremasse recipe
Some people prefer using real coconut instead of canned coconut milk. In this case, grate one coconut. Once the coconut meat has been grated, strain the milk using a cheese cloth.
Don't have Rhum Barbancourt? Opt instead for other Haitian rum brands like Clairin rum, Providence rum, or Kleren rum. If that's not an option, use a dark aged rum or Caribbean rum of choice
Want your cremas recipe to be a little sweeter? Stir in ½ cup to 1 cup of white sugar into the cremas while its cooking. Add to your personal taste.
For my vegan and dairy free friends, feel free to swap out the regular evaporated and condensed milks for coconut evaporated milk and coconut sweetened condensed milk. These simple swaps will make this a vegan cremas as well as a dairy free cremas.
Want your Haitian Cremasse to be thicker? Cook it for a longer period of time. For an extra thick drink cook it for 25-30 minutes at low heat.
Storage for Haitian Kremas
This drink has a fantastic shelf life and will keep in an airtight container for upto 6 months in the refrigerator.
More recipes to try
Check out these other festive drinks
Haitian Cremas
Ingredients
- 1 can of evaporated milk
- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can of coconut cream
- 1 can of unsweetened coconut milk
- zest of 1 lime
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 star anise
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup Haitian Rum
Instructions
- In a dutch oven over low heat, add your evaporated milk, condensed milk, coconut cream and coconut milk.
- Add in the lime zest, fresh lime juice, cinnamon, star anise, almond extract, vanilla extract, nutmeg and salt. Allow to simmer at low heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Remove the Haitian cremasse from the heat and stir in your choice of rum.
- Using a funnel and strainer, pour in cremas into a large glass bottle or carafe. Place in the refrigerator and allow to chill.
- Before serving, give the bottle a good shake and serve over ice. If desired, garnish with star anise and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.
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