Fried custard (Crema fritta)

In Italy, douring Carnival period, there's the tradition of fried sweets: there are many, fried custard is a typical delight of Bologna and surroundings.

Often is served as side dish in a speciality called "fritto misto alla bolognese" (deep fried mix Bolognese style) with fried apples, courgettes, cauliflowers, carrots, onion rings and sometimes other ingredients.

It's a mix of sweet and salty flavours, anyway fried custard could be served alone as dessert.

You need:

4 1/2 oz. all purpose flour+ some to dust

2 1/4 cups of milk

5 eggs

3 1/2 oz. sugar

1 vanilla stick

breadcrumbs

frying oil

lemon peel

icing sugar

Open 3 eggs in a bowl, add sugar and beat untill the cream is foamy then add sieved flour and mix.

Put milk in a pan with cutted vanilla stick and lemon peel taking it near to boiling point.

Take off vanilla stick and lemon peel and pour milk in the egg cream slowly, little by little, mixing.

Cook the cream on light heat for 5 minutes mixing.

Soak a oven paper sheet then drain and cover a a baking thin.

Pour the cream in it and spread with a spatula untill you have a uniform layer of cream, about 1 inches thick.

Put the baking thin in the fridge for about 4 hours, it must be well solidified.

When it's ready, using a knife, cut the custard in diamond-shaped pieces about 2 x 2 inches, rinsing everytime the blade under cold water.

Open remaining eggs in another bowl and beat them lightly and in two different dishes put flour and breadcrumbs: flour costard pieces, pass them in the beated eggs then in breadcrumbs.

Heat a copius quantity of frying oil in a pan, when it's hot fry the custard turning the pieces untill the're gold and crispy.

Drip the pieces on blotting-paper and keep them warm, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.