Sporcamuss – Italian Cream Filled Pastries

A delicious flakey pastry filled with a tasty Italian cream then dusted with icing sugar.

In Barese dialect, Sporcamuss actually translates to ‘dirty mouth’. The dessert is named this as it can be quite messy to eat but is absolutely delicious and is very easy to make. It is a popular dessert in Puglia and one that everyone will love.

Ingredients

• 1 roll pre-made puff pastry

For the crema pasticcera

• 500ml/2 cups whole milk
• 7 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla bean
• 125g/1 cup caster sugar
• 40g/1/3 cup flour/cornflour
• Zest of 1 lemon
• confectioners/icing sugar for dusting

Method

For the crema pasticcera

Pour the milk into a pan and add both the vanilla seeds and pod.

Add the lemon zest and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. In another pan pour the egg yolks, sugar and flour. Using a soft whisk, mix to obtain a creamy and smooth consistency.

As soon as the milk starts to boil, transfer it to the pan with the egg yolks, filtering it with a sieve and always mixing with the whisk. Transfer the pan back to the heat and stir continuously until thickened.

Once thickened transfer to a bowl to cool and at this point the custard is ready, you can use straight away or place some plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the fridge until ready to use.

For the puff pastry squares