How to Make Fried Milk – Spanish Leche Frita Recipe [Video]
Leche Frita is a classic Spanish dessert that ventured into my life several years ago, as a surprise dessert brought to a dinner party by a neighbor. And boy, it made an entrance! Unknown, it came to me, and unforgettable it remains. I love Leche Frita – Spanish fried milk so much!
LECHE FRITA/FRIED MILK STEP-BY-STEP
I’ll try to describe it in a way that inspires you to try it yourself. I think of fried milk as a warm, silky smooth, creamy pudding with a hint of lemon and orange, wrapped in a crispy, caramel cinnamon blanket. Well, that certainly was poetic! Was it not?! Without further ado, let’s get to work and make classic Spanish dessert – Leche Frita/Fried Milk.
WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE
It’s not overly sweet, and after multiple tests, I scaled down the sugar amount in the custard to my liking. After all, there is cinnamon sugar coating on the outside that provides enough sweetness to my taste.
If you’re anything like me and enjoy custard-based desserts, this one is sure to win your heart over. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
I love the contrast of textures. Inside is creamy, soft, and velvety. And the outside is golden crisp with a beautiful, delicious cinnamon flavor.
This is heaven. I love ice cream, and pairing it with warm leche frita is the best thing ever! Try it!
THINGS YOU NEED
- Mixing Bowls
- Potato Peeler
- Kitchen Scale (my favorite)
- Baking Dish ( 8×8 inch)
- Paper Towels
- Stainless Steel Tools for frying
- Baking Sheets or trays
- Knife
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FRIED MILK INGREDIENTS
- Custard
- Milk
- Lemon and Orange, fresh peels
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Egg yolks
- Powdered Sugar
- All-purpose Flour
- Corn Starch
- Butter (optional)
- Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract
- Lemon and Orange Flavorings (optional)
- Egg Wash Coating
- Whole Eggs
- Corn Starch
- Coating
- Ground Cinnamon
- Granulated Sugar
LEMON AND ORANGE PEEL
Traditional fried milk is made with infused milk using lemon, orange, and cinnamon. First, wash the orange and lemon in salty water, then use a potato peeler to peel the zest (step 1). I also like to chop the zest to help release more of the flavorful lemon and orange oils into the milk. Chopping increases the exposed area and allows more lemon/orange oil to seep into the milk.
LEMON ORANGE CINNAMON INFUSED MILK
Into a pot, you want to add about 3/4 of the milk, whole cinnamon sticks, and chopped lemon and orange peels. It’s essential to stir the mixture as it heats up to prevent scorching at the bottom. Bring the milk to a gentle boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Then, cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and let it steep for 15-30 minutes.
Strain the infused milk and discard the peels and lemon sticks.
CUSTARD
Into the remaining milk, I add egg yolks, flour, cornstarch, salt, and powdered sugar. Whisk the mixture well until smooth (steps 1-5).
Into the infused and still warm milk, add the thickening mixture along with unsalted butter. (Steps 1-2). Cook the custard on medium heat until the mixture thickens, stirring it constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Once it thickens, let it cook for about 2-3 minutes to remove the flour and starch taste. Then turn the heat off and stir in your flavorings. I use Vanilla Bean Paste, Orange Bakery Emulsion, and also Lemon Oil Flavorings. Orange and lemon flavorings are optional, but I prefer to add them to enhance the flavor further.
COOL CUSTARD
Now it’s time to cool the custard. Into a 8×8-inch buttered baking dish, pour the custard and smooth the top with a spatula. Cover it with a food wrap and allow it to cool for at least 4-5 hours, or overnight.
SLICE COOLED CUSTARD
Carefully invert cold custard onto the cutting board and cut it into bars or cubes. It’s best when bars are at least 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick.
EGG WASH COATING
Prepare egg wash and cornstarch to coat the slices.
Coat all pieces in cornstarch and then dip them in egg wash. Transfer the pieces onto the baking sheet lined with parchment. Access egg wash will drip and form a puddle under the pieces. Don’t worry, this is normal and okay.
FRYING LECHE FRITA
Heat the oil until hot. Check if the oil is hot – insert a wooden spoon handle into the oil. Oil is hot when the bubbles form at the bottom and up the sides of the wooden handle.
It’s best to maintain a constant oil temperature for the proper frying of custard cakes.
Carefully pick up a piece of coated custard slice and place it into a hot oil. Add more custard cakes, but don’t overcrowd the frying pot. I was able to fit three pieces into the pot, and that was an ideal amount. Fry the cakes for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden, and then carefully remove them and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Gently pat down the tops with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
CINNAMON SUGAR COATING
While you have a paper towel on top of the freshly fried cakes, it helps keep them warm. At this time, to avoid the oil from overheating, add a new batch of cakes into the hot oil to fry them. Then immediately remove the top layer of paper towel from freshly fried cakes and gently toss them in cinnamon sugar. It’s best to do this while the fried milk pieces are hot, so the sugar and ground cinnamon stick to the surface.
Transfer the sugar-coated pieces onto the tray lined with paper towels. Serve warm or let them cool to room temperature.
MY FRIED MILK FRYING STATION
In the picture below, you can see my frying setup. I use a small portable electric burner. I also have cinnamon sugar on hand in a roomy container, so it’s easy to toss the fried pieces in the sugar. And, I also have three baking sheets around the burner. 1st baking sheet holds the egg-washed pieces. The second one is for post-frying, using paper towels to absorb excess oil. The third one is a cooling tray to keep the cinnamon-sugar-coated fried milk cakes.
LECHE FRITA SUCCESS TIPS
Here are some of the common problems and my recommendations that I discovered while testing the fried milk recipe I’m sharing with you today.
Lack of flavor is most likely due to an insufficient infusion of milk. Infuse your milk with lemon and orange zest. I like to chop the peel to help release these oils. I use a high-quality vanilla bean paste, along with lemon and orange flavoring.
When custard doesn’t set up, it means that there wasn’t enough flour or cornstarch, or you didn’t let the custard set entirely. Allow several hours for it to firm up; it’s best to chill it in the refrigerator.
This could be caused by runny custard that didn’t set properly. Or that the slices are too thin. It’s best to work with pieces that are at least 3/4 inch thick and more. Don’t use a large dish to cool and shape the custard block; this will make a thin layer.
It could mean that the oil was too cold. Test the oil before adding the pieces. It could also mean that you left the pieces in the oil for too long. Cook them for 2 minutes on each side, keeping the oil consistently hot. Don’t overcrowd the frying pan, and be sure to drain the cakes on the paper towels right away to absorb excess oil.
Cinnamon sugar should be added right after cakes are fried and treated with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
While it’s not necessary to use extra flavorings, I like to add orange and lemon flavor to enhance the overall experience of eating leche frita.
I enjoy fried milk warm, at room temperature, and also chilled. It’s mostly served warm with a chocolate sauce, dulce de leche (a type of caramel sauce), ice cream, or whipped cream.
WATCH THE VIDEO
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Fried Milk – Spanish Leche Frita Recipe
Ingredients
Custard
- 3½ cups milk (850 ml)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (30 grams)
- 2 egg yolks from large eggs
- scant ⅓ cup corn starch (1.5 oz, 45 grams)
- little over ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (1.5 oz, 45 grams)
- pinch of salt
- 2 lemons, zest, peeled and chopped, not the white part
- 1 orange, zest, peeled and chopped, not the white part (pith)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tbsp butter (30 grams)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 tsp Orange Bakery Emulsion (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Extract/Oil (optional)
Egg Wash Coating
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 3 whole eggs
Frying
- 1½ cup oil, use a small sauce pan
Cinnamon Coating
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup granulated sugar ( 200 grams)
Instructions
Infused Milk
- In a medium-size saucepan, combine 3/4 of the milk (600 ml), lemon and orange zests, and cinnamon sticks.Bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 15 minutes.Strain the infused milk through a fine mesh sieve. Discard lemon, orange peels, and cinnamon sticks. Double-check the volume of infused milk. If it's less than 600 ml, add the difference volume into the thickening milk mixture in the next step.
Custard
- Into the remaining milk (250 ml) add 2 egg yolks, corn starch (scant 1/3 cup, 45 grams),all- purpose flour (a little over 1/3 cup, 45 grams), and powdered sugar (1/4 cup, 30 grams) and pinch of salt. Whisk together until well combined.
- Add the corn starch/flour/egg mixture to the infused warm milk and cook until thick. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.Remove from the heat and add Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract (2 teaspoons), Orange (1/2 teaspoon), and Lemon Flavorings. (1/2 teaspoon).
Cool Custard
- Pour the mixture into a pan (8×8 inch) greased with butter. Spread it evenly and cover with food wrap to cool completely. Turn the block of set custard onto a cutting board. Slice the block of cooled pudding into cubes or bars.
Cinnamon Sugar
- Whisk together granulated sugar (1 cup, 200 grams) and ground cinnamon (2 teaspoons), set aside.
Frying and Coating in Cinnamon Sugar
- In a small dish, whisk 3 eggs. Dip each custard piece in cornstarch and egg wash and fry in hot oil about 2 minutes on each side.Remove from the oil, and allow paper towels to absorb the excess oil. And immediately toss each hot fried milk piece in cinnamon sugar.Serve warm or at room temperature. Can be refrigerated and reheated.
Notes
- I don’t have all the eggs, can I make the custard without egg yolks? Use 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of cornstarch to make the custard.
OMG! I am sooooo thrilled that you posted your recipe! Once I am back from our trip I will make it for sure! So intrigued by this, I just know we will love it!
Hi Sally!
Can’t wait to see your version. Yum
Enjoy every minutes of your trip.