How to make Italian hot cream puffs

The Italian hot cream puff or sporcamuss, also known as sporcamusi or stusciamuss, are typical Apulian puffs: these are puff pastry squares filled with delicious custard which, in our recipe, we combined with whipped cream, to make the cream even more delicate.

The peculiarity of these  sweets is that they must be served and enjoyed strictly hot, even in the summer season.

Here’s how to prepare them in just a few simple steps.

Serving: Makes 24 Sporcamusi

INGREDIENTS:

• 17.75 oz of puff pastry;
• icing sugar;
• 1 egg yolk

For the custard:

• 200 ml of fresh cream;
• 300 ml. of milk;
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract;
• 2 whole fresh eggs;
• ¼ cup of flour;
• ½ cup + 3 tbsp of granulated sugar;
• a pinch of salt

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 360 F.
2. Spread the dough on a floured surface until it reaches a thickness of about 0.31 inches.
3. You can also use the already spread and rolled one.
4. Make small squares of about 2.36/2.75 inches per side.
5. Place the pastry squares on a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush the yolk on the surface, to prevent them from burning quickly.
6. Bake with the oven on only at the base for about 15-20 minutes, until the squares are inflated and peeled.
7. Just before taking them out of the oven, light the oven above to make them brown on the surface.
8. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
9. While the dough squares cool, prepare the custard.
10. Heat the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a boil almost.
    In another saucepan, beat the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt and add the sifted flour.
11. Stir a little and add the milk with the cream all at once, letting it filter through a sieve.
12. Put everything on a low heat and stir constantly with the whisk, until it has thickened.
13. Ten minutes before serving, gently open the pastry squares in half and fill with custard.
14. Reheat for another 5 minutes in the oven and serve the very hot sporcamusi sprinkled with icing sugar.

How to make Real Italian crema pasticcera

Buon Mangiata!