Spain is more famous for its savory dishes, like iconic tapas and pretty paellas, than its desserts. But leche frita, or Spanish fried milk, is one of these amazing desserts that you need to try for yourself!
If you like fried treats, you'll definitely want to try these recipes for honey-glazed pestiños and torrijas (Spanish-style French toast).
Introduction
My first time trying leche frita was when I was teaching at a primary school, and a mother passed around a Tupperware of her homemade treat. The leche frita's sticky, creamy texture and golden coating was delicious, and I was determined to make it myself!
This traditional Spanish dessert is a simple concoction of milk, flour, and sugar, coated in eggs and fried to perfection in olive oil, and can be flavored by cinnamon sugar or lemon peel. Fortunately, you don't need a Spanish grandmother to invite you over for merienda; you can easily recreate this wonderful treat at home!
Ingredients
Wondering what ingredients you'll need to make this Spanish dessert? Here's the key ingredients for leche frita!
- Milk: I recommend using whole milk for the creamiest texture.
- Cornstarch & Flour: These work together to thicken the infused milk mixture.
- Eggs: These add richness and color and help thicken the mixture.
- Lemon Peel & Cinnamon: This adds infuses the milk with flavor.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Leche Frita
If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Whisk the cornstarch, sugar, and half of the flour until they're well combined. (image 1)
- Add 1 cup of milk and whisk until blended, then set aside. (image 2)
- Heat the milk in a saucepan, then add the cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and vanilla and let it sit for 5 minutes. (image 3)
- Strain the milk mixture into the cornstarch-milk mixture and stir over low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes. (image 4)
- Oil a large baking dish and pour the thick milk mixture into it. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it into the mixture, and chill for at least 4 hours. (image 5)
- Turn the cooled milk mixture out of the pan and cut into small squares. (image 6)
- Dip each piece in beaten egg, then in flour, to bread it. Heat the olive oil over medium heat about ¼-inch thick. (image 7)
- Fry the coated pieces in the oil until golden, flipping them halfway through. Let them drain on paper towel. (image 8)
- Stir the sugar and cinnamon together, then toss the leche frita in the cinnamon sugar. (image 9)
- Serve the leche frita fresh--preferably with ice cream! (image 10)
Recipe FAQs
Fried milk is made from a few simple ingredients: milk, cornstarch, flour, sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon peel, vanilla extract, olive oil, and eggs.
Leche frita does taste best fresh, but you can keep it in the refrigerator for a few days. To reheat it, bake it in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 8-10 minutes, or until warm and crispy.
Leche frita is a unique and mouthwatering treat that is popularly served at Easter. Its origins are disputed, but we do know that it's from northern Spain. Regardless of who invented this dessert, it's a wonderful treat that you'll love!
Serve
This leche frita tastes best freshly fried or cooled to room temperature. It tastes even better when served with ice cream! This Spanish treat is commonly served at Easter, but is delicious enough to be enjoyed anytime.
Expert Tips
- Cook the milk mixture until it's fully thickened, stirring frequently to prevent lumps. This can take up to 15 minutes.
- The secret to great leche frita is making sure that the mixture solidifies in the fridge. If it doesn't, you won't be able to fry it without it falling apart. So plan ahead, take your time when heating it on the stove, and refrigerate it for as long as possible!
Leche Frita - Spanish Fried Milk
Ingredients
For the Milk Mixture
- 4 cups whole milk
- 3 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 piece lemon peel
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For Frying & Garnish
- 3 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs beaten
- ½ cup olive oil
- sugar and powdered cinnamon for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk the cornstarch, sugar, and half of the flour, then add 1 cup of milk and combine. Set aside.
- Heat the remaining milk over medium-low heat in a large saucepan until it starts to bubble. Remove from heat and add the cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and vanilla. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Gradually strain the milk from the saucepan into the mixture from the first step, and stir until combined. Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens considerably. This will take about 15 minutes.
- Oil a large baking dish and pour the mixture into it. It should be about ¾ inch (2 cm) deep. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper so that it's resting on the surface of the mixture, and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight if possible, until it has solidified.
- Turn the cooled mixture out of the pan and cut into small squares. Dip each piece in beaten egg and then in flour to form a light coating.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, at a depth of about ¼ inch (½ cm). Fry the cubes in the oil for about one minute on each side, until the coating turns golden. Let the leche frita drain on a paper towel, then roll in sugar and cinnamon.
- Serve fresh or at room temperature, ideally with ice cream.
Notes
- Cook the milk mixture until it's fully thickened, stirring frequently to prevent lumps. This can take up to 15 minutes.
- The secret to great leche frita is making sure that the mixture solidifies in the fridge. If it doesn't, you won't be able to fry it without it falling apart. So plan ahead, take your time when heating it on the stove, and refrigerate it for as long as possible!
Nutrition
Photography by Giulia Verdinelli
Faith
Ultimately, this recipe was delicious. I subtracted one star because of some of the vague instructions: "large baking pan", "small squares". It would have been helpful to have actual measurements. My "large" baking pan is 9x13 but the milk was only about 1/4" thick in that pan. I poured into my 9x9 but it was more like 1.5" thick then (recipe said should be 3/4" thick). And then the "small squares". Since I had never heard of, or eaten these before it was pretty mysterious. All that said, they were a lot of trouble and quite messy to make but received raves from my friends so I might make again, having learned a few things when making the first time.
Trista
Haven't made this yet about to but in with the prep time can include 4 hour in fridge.
Bob
Tastes great!
Bob
Yup Great!!
Erika
Have enjoyed this dish a number of times and love it. I put in the same group as Torrijas which can be divine. Thank you for this recipe as I've been wanting to try making leche frita. I imagine I will need to practice a number of times to know when the consistency is just right. No problem. The results will still be delicious even if they don't come out perfectly.
Pop Spencer
There's a cave restaurant not far from us, Alkadima in Huescar, where we went with friends for a vegetable paella. I phoned to reserve a table, explained we were vegetarians and also that my wife was coeliac. The paella was delicious, served in a large paella pan on a table next to us, and then they offered us Leche Frites which they'd made with gluten free flour so my wife could have some too. Served with ice cream, they were a touch on the sweet side, but we all enjoyed them immensely. Our friends, who were visiting us from the UK, felt they'd experienced a touch of the real Spain that night, especially as we'd been held up on the way by a large flock of sheep being moved between pastures.