Leche Frita
Thick cinnamon-scented custard set in a tray, cut into squares, coated in flour and egg and cooked until golden with a creamy centre.
Photograph credit: Leche frita (image of leche frita on Wikidata Q593209) by deramaenrama (Flickr) · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Leche Frita: Step by Step
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Warm 400 ml of the milk with the cinnamon stick and lemon peel for 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and peel.
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Whisk the remaining 100 ml milk with the egg yolks, 100 g sugar and cornflour until smooth. Pour in the warm milk, return to the pan and cook, stirring, for 8 minutes until very thick.
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Pour into a lined 20 cm tin to a depth of 2 cm. Cool, then chill for at least 2 hours until firm. Cut into 5 cm squares.
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Coat each square in flour, then beaten egg. Fry in hot oil for 1 minute on each side until golden.
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Drain, then dust with the 2 tbsp sugar mixed with the cinnamon.
Things to Watch For
- Cook the custard until very thick.
- Chill it thoroughly.
- Handle the squares gently.
Good to Know About Leche Frita
The name means fried milk, and it describes the dish perfectly. Leche frita is a thick custard, flavoured with cinnamon and lemon, poured into a tray and left to set, then cut into squares, dipped in egg and flour, and fried until crisp. Inside, it is hot, creamy and soft. Outside, it is a thin, golden crust.
The custard has to be firm enough to be cut. It is thickened with cornflour as well as egg yolks. Cook milk with the cinnamon stick and lemon peel, whisk in a mix of yolks, sugar and cornflour, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring all the time, until it is very thick, like a stiff paste. Don't take it off the heat too early. If it is too soft it will not hold its shape.
Pour into a lined tray and spread to 2 cm thick. Let it cool, then chill for at least 2 hours, until firm. Cut into squares of 5 cm.
Coat each in flour, then in beaten egg, and fry in hot oil for 1 minute on each side, until golden. Dust with cinnamon sugar and serve straight away. The contrast between the crisp shell and the molten middle is the point.
On the Table Alongside
Coffee · Fresh fruit · Sweet wine · Ice cream
Leftovers
The set custard keeps in the fridge for 2 days. Fry just before serving.
Common Questions
How long does Leche Frita take to make?
25 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours of Chilling the custard, so allow 2 hours 40 minutes from start to finish. The method also needs time for cooling, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 6.
Leche Frita Nutrition Facts
No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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