Italian Deep Fried Custard -Crema Fritta

Sweet and savory appetizers

In Italy, it is very common to serve sweet and savory snacks with cocktails as an aperitif.

Most of the classic Italian aperitifs - Spritz, Bellini, Martini - are sweet, and having savory bites with them creates the perfect balance of flavors.

When you order a cocktail at an Italian "Bar" (which is not the same as an American Bar), you are normally served some simple nibbles like olives, chips, or salted nuts.

However, if you order an Italian Aperocena you will have a light dinner served with your cocktail. An Aperocena includes more complex antipasti, in Italian called stuzzichini.

Stuzzichini means small bites to tease your appetite.

These appetizers can be an assortment of toasted crostini with different toppings, small pizzette, tramezzini, and/or panini.

Although a more elaborate Aperocena will also include fritto misto: fried food like Crispelle, fried pizza, fried mozzarella and/or olive ascolane (fried stuffed olives).

These fried foods are served in paper cones a classic Italian street food in many towns and regions, Naple, Liguria, and Marche.

Fried custard is mainly served in the North of Italy, in particular, Marche or Veneto region; as such, it is rarer to find.

That is why I learned how to make it, so I can offer this rare delicacy to many who have never enjoyed eating this.

The authentic origin of this recipe

This fried custard recipe is an authentic recipe from Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche region.

My aunt by marriage, Zia Benella, who is originally from Ascoli Piceno got this recipe from her mother Maria.

Zia Benella is a great cook and at every family reunion, she always prepared some special recipes.

I still remember with joy when her mother Maria was coming to visit.

My aunt's kitchen would be transformed into a large-scale cooking operation full of spices and baking fragrances.

There was always some special recipe from Marche being made, and I preciously collected them all!

A Note on Precise Measurements

For this Crema Fritta recipe, achieving the correct custard consistency is crucial.

It needs to be firm enough to cut into solid cubes after cooling.

While I provide both metric (grams) and US customary (cups, tablespoons, etc.) measurements, I strongly recommend using a kitchen scale and the gram measurements for the greatest accuracy.

The original Italian recipe uses the metric system (grams and liters) because weight measurements are more precise than volume measurements, especially for dry ingredients like flour and sugar.

Using cups can lead to slight variations in the amount of an ingredient, which can affect the final texture of the custard.

If you don't have a kitchen scale, be very careful when measuring with cups, and make sure you use the "spoon and level" method: spoon the flour (or other dry ingredient) into the measuring cup, then level it off with a straight edge. 

Do not scoop the flour directly with the measuring cup, as this can compact the flour and result in too much being used.

Check the recipe card for both measurements

Ingredients

• Egg yolks: Use medium size eggs, yolks only. You can freeze the leftover egg whites and use them at a later date to make meringues
• Sugar: Use regular granulated sugar and do not replace it with other types of sugar as this recipe does not adapt well to changes
• Warm milk: Use half-fat milk.
• Flour: Use pastry flour, all-purpose flour, not self-raising. In Italy, the flour type is 00
• Lemon zest: Use an untreated lemon where the zest has not been waxed. You can also use vanilla extracte but lemon zest is better if you are serving it as an aperitif.

See recipe card for quantities.

Ingredients for frying:

• Flour, egg, and bread crumbs for coating: use plain breadcrumbs without any added flavor
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

Making the custard

1. Place the egg yolks and the sugar into a pan (no heat)
2. Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar until the mix changes into a lighter color and bubbles start to form
3. Add the flour gradually to make sure lumps do not form
4. Add the warm milk gradually continuously stirring to properly combine all the ingredients
5. Add the lemon zest and stir
6. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes constantly stirring. The custard will thicken.

Hint: If you lift the custard with a spoon, it will stay attached to it.

Shaping the custard into diamond

1. Cover a rectangular baking pan or a ceramic dish with low edges ( about 2x5x9 in - 5x12x22 cm) with aluminum foil or cling film
2. Pour the custard while still warm. Spread it evenly to cover the entire surface and smoothen the top.
3. Let the hot custard cool down for 3 hours without covering it. Do not place it in a closed cupboard or in the fridge as the steam has to completely evaporate so the custard drys and hardens.
4. Once at room temperature, place the custard on a cutting board and cut it into diamond shapes with a long knife. The cut pieces should be about 2 in - 5 cm long

Coating and frying the custard

1. Place the flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs into 3 separate bowls
2. Coat each custard diamond-shaped pieces first in the flour
3. Second into the eggs
4. Third into breadcrumbs
5. Deep fry the custard squares until golden brown
6. Place them on a kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil

Substitutions

It is best to use lemon zest to flavor these cremini if you are serving them as an appetizer.

However, if you are serving fried custard as a dessert, you can substitute the lemon zest with vanilla extract.

How to serve them

Fried custard is usually served warm as an appetizer with fried stuffed Ascolane olives and a fancy cocktail like Aperol Spritz or Bellini.

You can serve them with an assortment of other fried appetizers. You will find many ideas here in the blog in the Fried finger food categories:

Other popular fried food to serve with an aperitif are Crispelle, Fried Pizza, Zucchini flowers, and fried eggplant balls.

Equipment

To make the custard you only need a saucepan and a wooden spoon to stir it. Make sure you use a wooden spoon with a comfortable handle as the custard will become very hard to stir.

To shape the custard you need a rectangular baking pan or ceramic dish with low edges so you can easily spread and remove the custard.

The best dimensions for these quantities are about 2x5x9 in - 5x12x22 cm

If you have a slightly larger or smaller pan, it is ok to use it. However, you will have chunkier or thinner squares of custard as a result.

When I fry appetizers for a dinner party I like to use a deep fryer as it is easier to fry large quantities of food in a shorter timeframe.

If you don't have a deep fryer you can use a regular pot filled with vegetable oil.

Storage

The fried custard will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, however, they are best if served warm.

Reheat them in the oven at 355 F - 180 C for 10 minutes before serving them.