The FRIED MILK is a simple but very tempting dessert from the Sicilian tradition, where it is mainly prepared for Carnival. Its origins are very old and seem to be Spanish, but we certainly know that the island’s convents prepared these fritters as early as the 17th century. Not greatly different variants are also found in Genoa and other parts of our country.
The goodness of these bites — crispy on the outside and creamy inside — lies in their simplicity, which enhances the delicate taste of milk enriched with cinnamon and lemon aroma. Making fried milk does not require effort, only a bit of time to follow all the steps, well illustrated in the step-by-step photos below.
A small final tip: prepare the fritters in advance but fry them at the last moment so they are hot and crunchy and show all their goodness!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 15 pieces
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 252.66 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 17.58 (g) of which sugars 11.45 (g)
- Proteins 2.30 (g)
- Fat 20.01 (g) of which saturated 2.58 (g)of which unsaturated 14.26 (g)
- Fibers 0.19 (g)
- Sodium 7.74 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 45 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 500 ml / cups whole milk (about 2 cups (500 ml))
- 100 ml / cups heavy cream (about 1/3 cup (100 ml))
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- lemon peel (untreated)
- 60 cup cornstarch (about 1/2 cup (60 g))
- 85 tbsp granulated sugar (about 6 3/4 tbsp (85 g))
- 2 eggs (medium, room temperature)
- 60 cup all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup (60 g))
- 250 ml / cups sunflower oil (about 1 cup + 2 tbsp (250 ml) for frying)
- to taste granulated sugar
TOOLS YOU’LL NEED FOR FRIED MILK
- 1 Loaf pan 8 in
- 1 Pot
- 3 Small bowls
- 1 Frying pan
- Paper towels
PREPARING FRIED MILK
In a small saucepan, heat 400 ml (about 1 2/3 cups) of milk over low heat with the lemon peels (without the white pith) and the cinnamon sticks. When it is about to boil, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and let it infuse for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 100 ml (about 1/3 cup) of cold milk. Make sure there are no lumps.
After the infusion time, remove the cinnamon sticks and the lemon peels.
Add the sugar and the heavy cream, then return to the heat. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Then add the milk in which you dissolved the cornstarch and, over low heat and stirring constantly with a whisk, let the mixture thicken.
Grease a loaf pan with butter or a little vegetable oil (if you don’t have one, a not-too-large baking dish will do), pour in the hot custard, smooth it out and cover it with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface so a skin does not form.
Let cool to room temperature and then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
When the milk custard has fully set, remove it from the pan — to help, run a knife around the edges — and cut into slices about 5/8 in (1.5 cm) thick. Cut each slice in half.
In one plate beat the eggs and in another place the flour. Coat the milk pieces first in the flour, covering them completely, and then in the egg.
Put the frying oil in a pan and when it is hot begin frying over low heat, turning to brown on all sides.
Drain the fried milk, place it on paper towels, blot lightly and then roll it in sugar.
Let the fried milk cool slightly and enjoy its simple goodness.
