How to Make Homemade Fried Milk: Classic Galician Dessert (Easy!)

Ingredients 🍽️

For the base cream of the fried milk:

• 🍬 100 g of powdered or icing sugar
• 🍳 3 medium egg yolks
• 🍋 The peel of a lemon (optional, also of an orange)
• 🌾 80 g fine flour or corn starch
• 🧈 40 g butter
• 🍂 1 cinnamon stick and 1 vanilla pod
• 🥛 ¾ liters of whole milk

For frying:

• 🛢️ 1/2 liter of extra virgin olive oil for frying

For the batter:

• 🌾 100 g of all-purpose wheat flour
• 🥚 3 eggs (M)

Final decoration or coating of the fried milk:

• 🍩 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• 🍬 100 g of normal sugar

Our dessert recipes could not be without the Galician fried milk .

To prepare this traditional dessert we do not need any special ingredients, we only need the ones we have at home, which is why it is one of the most successful simple desserts in Spanish pastry, along with filloas , pudding or flan .

We can find thousands of different recipes, to suit the taste of the cook, and I’m sure they’re all delicious, but I’m going to leave you with the one my mother prepares, as it’s one of the desserts she makes best and that’s how I make it. It’s prepared especially during Easter, but I try to make it all year round because I love it.

Homemade fried milk recipe, Step-by-step

First thing: flavor the milk

1. The first step is to prepare the ingredients that we are going to use to flavour the milk. We wash the lemon very well and peel its skin thinly, without too much white that would later make the dessert bitter.
2. We open the vanilla pod and take out the seeds that we will reserve to add later to the milk. If we use homemade eggs, I assure you that you will improve this delicious dessert.
3. We separate a small glass of milk from the total amount we are going to use and set it aside. We heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan over medium heat almost to the boiling point.
4. Lower the temperature and remove from the heat. Add the vanilla seeds, butter, lemon peel and finally the cinnamon stick . Let everything sit and infuse for 5 minutes.

Preparation of the base cream and rest

1. Mix the cornstarch in the glass of milk and mix until there are no lumps. If necessary, blend it. Separate the yolks from the whites.
2. Put the yolks in a bowl and beat with the sugar until foamy. Add the glass of milk and the cornstarch. Beat again until there are no lumps, it should be a homogeneous dough. Set aside.
3. Strain the infused milk and add it back to the saucepan. Heat to medium boil and add the cream from the previous step. Add it little by little and mix with a whisk continuously until it thickens. It is very important not to stop stirring, otherwise it may burn or stick to the saucepan.
4. We choose the tray that we are going to use for the fried milk cream. In this case, a rectangular glass one measuring 32 x 24 cm that I have greased with a little butter just in case, although it is not usually necessary.
5. Pour the fried milk mixture into the dish so that it is the desired thickness. Approximately 0.5–1 cm or a finger’s thickness, it all depends on taste. I like it thick. Let it cool for at least a couple of hours. If you make it the day before eating it, it will be much better, and it is easier to handle.
6. We cover the fried milk dough with plastic wrap, so that it is in contact with the dough. This way, it does not form a crust and remains very soft. We let it cool in the fridge. It is ideal to make the dough the night or afternoon before. This way, we help it to cool for several hours before continuing with the recipe.

Frying and final presentation of fried milk

1. Once the dough is cold and compact, carefully unmold it by turning it over onto a tray. Cut it into square or rectangular portions, also to taste (between 3–5 cm on each side).
2. We pass them through flour first and then through beaten egg, until they are well coated on both sides.
3. Fry them in a large frying pan with plenty of mild virgin olive oil or sunflower oil. When they are golden brown, remove them with a skimmer, for about a minute and a half on each side. Remove any egg residue and any typical fried balls if there are any.
4. Let it dry on absorbent paper and then cover it with the ground cinnamon and sugar mixture. Here you have a dessert that we can say in capital letters is delicious.

This traditional fried milk recipe is relatively easy to prepare, as you will have seen in the step-by-step instructions.

Origins of the fried milk

• The origin of the recipe is uncertain, with several Spanish regions claiming its authorship. It is true that in the north of Spain this dessert is almost a religion and has its most devoted followers.
• Although its invention was surely made from the most common ingredients in the kitchen: milk, flour and eggs. Just like Torrijas, they are quite similar to fried milk or cream toast .
• The secret of fried milk is to achieve a creamy texture that does not fall apart and to coat it with breadcrumbs. According to Nestor Lujan and Juan Perucho in « The Spanish Cookbook, Gastronomy and History », the most popular in Madrid is the ones coated with breadcrumbs.
• You can eat the fried milk hot or warm, or let it cool and serve it cold. I like it just like that, I assure you that no one will be able to resist this dessert, its flavour is unique.

How to Make Homemade Fried Milk: Easy & Classic Dessert