Deep Fried Custard Slices Spain Food

DEEP-FRIED CUSTARD SLICES (SPAIN)

Steps:

• Put milk, lemon zest, 4 tbsp sugar & vanilla bean in a saucepan & bring to a slow boil. Remove pan from heat source, allow milk mixture to cool & remove vanilla bean.
• Melt butter in a 2nd saucepand till foaming & add flour. Cook till the flour foams & turns pale golden, stirring continuously.
• Slowly add the warm milk, still stirring. Cook the sauce on low-heat for 5 min till it thickens.
• Remove pan from the heat source. Slowly add some of the mixture to the beaten egg yolks & whisk quickly to avoid cooking them. Then add the egg yolks to the milk/flour mixture & beat vigorously till well-combined.
• Butter (or spray w/PAM) a rectangular or square dish. Pour the custard into the dish & leave to set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. (See note in Step 7).
• Combine 2 tbsp sugar w/cinnamon & nutmeg & set aside.
• Cut the cold custard into triangles or squares (A square dish can be cut easily into 9 portions & a rectangular dish can be cut into 8 portions)
• Beat 2 eggs lightly & dip the pieces of custard in the beaten eggs, then in the breadcrumbs.
• Heat the oil in a lrg skillet or saucepan & fry the custard slices in batches till golden brown.
• Drain custard slices briefly on paper towels & arrange on a serving platter. Using a sml tea-strainer or other dusting container, sprinkle sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg mixture atop the custard slices. Serve lukewarm or cold as desired (Fresh fruit would provide color & be esp nice to serve w/this).
• NOTE: The # of servings was not given & depends largely on how you cut the custard, so I estimated the yield. Nearly all the time is cooking or chilling time, but I allowed 15 min for prep time. Times DO NOT include time for the milk mix to cool & custard to chill till cold, so plan ahead & try to forgive me if I'm a bit off w/my estimates. :-).

CUSTARD (VANILLA) SLICE

Steps:

• Place piece greaseproof paper onto a flat biscuit tray and spray with cooking spray. Put a sheet of puff pastry on tray and pierce all over with a fork, but don't go all the way through pastry.
• Put in oven about 200°C until puffed up and golden.
• Let cool for a few minutes and gently push pastry down (I use a teatowel so my hands don't get burned) so it's flat. Take it off baking tray and remove paper.
• Put pastry into a square dish that has been greased and lined with greaseproof paper. If pastry too big trim the sides a little. It should be a snug fit.
• Bake second sheet of pastry, remove the paper and set pastry to one side until custard is done.
• For the custard, put the sugar and custard powder into a large saucepan and mix together with a wire whisk.
• Add the milk and mix to combine well.
• Put saucepan on stovetop and heat on medium high until mixture begins to thicken, then lower the heat until mixture is very thick and hard to stir. I find using the wire whisk until mix begins to thicken prevents lumps, then use a spoon to stir it.
• Add vanilla and mix well then pour into prepared dish.
• Smooth top so it's even and put 2nd pastry sheet on top.
• The icing amount depends on how thick a layer you want it, but I usually melt about 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 teaspoon boiling water. Then I add icing sugar, passionfruit pulp and a bit of water or lemon juice until it's the right consistency and amount--you don't want it too runny.
• Pour the icing on top and put in fridge for a few hours or overnight.
• Cut into squares and enjoy!