Sporcamuss Recipe (Italian Cream Filled Pastries)

Sporcamuss are a traditional treat from the Apulia region in Italy. They are simple yet incredibly delicious, made from puff pastry and filled with Italian pastry cream (crema pasticcera).These treats are crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. They are especially popular in the Bari area.If you use store-bought puff pastry, as I did, the main challenge is making the pastry cream, but putting everything together is quite easy. If you decide to make the puff pastry from scratch, you'll need to plan ahead and be a bit more patient.

📝 Ingredients

• 4 medium egg yolks
• 100 g granulated sugar (- 1/2 cup)
• 50 g flour (- 1/3 cup)
• 500 ml milk (- 2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean or the zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk (- to brush the puff pastry squares)
• powdered sugar (- for dusting)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- MAKE THE PASTRY CREAM ---
2. 2Warm the milk in a saucepan, adding either vanilla or lemon zest, whichever you prefer. Heat it until it is almost boiling.
3. 3whisk: Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until they are well combined.
4. 4add: Next, take the sifted flour and gradually add it to the mixture, stirring continuously until everything is well combined.
5. 5add: Gradually add the hot milk to the mixture of eggs, sugar, and flour, making sure to stir all the time.
6. 6cook: Put the saucepan on low heat. Keep whisking until the cream becomes thick, which should take about 3-4 minutes.
7. 7cool: Transfer the pastry cream into a bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Put the bowl in the refrigerator and let it chill thoroughly for at least 30 minutes.
8. 8--- MAKE THE SPORCAMUSS ---
9. 9cut: First, roll out the puff pastry sheet on a flat surface (read the *Note below). Using a sharp knife or a pastry cutter, cut the pastry into strips that are about 6 cm wide (about 2 inch). Then, make horizontal cuts to create squares, each measuring 6 cm on each side. You should end up with around 20 squares in total.
10. 10place: Next, place the puff pastry squares on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure to space them out so they don’t touch each other while baking.
11. 11Brush each square with a beaten egg yolk to give them a nice golden color.
12. 12Bake the squares in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 15 minutes, until they are puffed up and golden brown.
13. 13fill: Once the puff pastry and the pastry cream have cooled to room temperature, it's time to fill them. Take half of the squares and add a dollop of pastry cream to each one. You can use a pastry bag or a teaspoon to do this.
14. 14add: Place the remaining squares on top of the cream-filled ones to form little sandwiches. Be gentle when placing the top squares so you don’t squish out too much of the cream.
15. 15dust and serve: Finally, dust the assembled sporcamuss pastries generously with icing sugar. Arrange them neatly on a tray or serving dish, and they’re ready to be enjoyed!