Where it comes from
Province-wide · disputed origin (Arab or Palencian)
Leche frita is a contrast you can eat: a thick custard of milk, sugar and cornflour, scented with lemon peel, orange peel and cinnamon, left to set, cut into cubes, dusted in flour and egg and fried. Outside, the hot coating; inside, the cool cream. It is one of the most popular "frying-pan desserts" of Holy Week.
In Almería it shares the table with arroz con leche, huevos a la nieve, papaviejos and borrachillos, and in Serón it is named with the hornazos and the mantecados carrasqueños among the local baking. Its origin is disputed — Arab for some, from Palencia for others — and the dispute remains open.
Let it be said plainly: it is a dessert common to all of Spain, not an Almerian speciality. It is here because it is eaten, and often, above all in Lent and Holy Week: in those weeks, rare is the table that does not bring it out.
What it is made with
Underlined ingredients link to Local produce.
How it is made at home
- Infuse the milk with the lemon peel, orange peel and cinnamon.
- Cook it with the sugar and cornflour until it forms a thick cream.
- Spread it in a dish and let it cool until set.
- Cut it into cubes and coat them in flour and egg.
- Fry them in hot oil and dust with sugar and cinnamon.