Bari and Altamura, Puglia
Literally 'dirty mouth' — sfoglia di pasta sfoglia (pre-baked puff pastry sheets) layered with crema pasticcera (vanilla pastry cream) and fried in olive oil until the pastry blisters and the cream begins to caramelise at the edges. Eaten standing, from paper, at the bakery — the cream inevitably escapes and 'dirties' the mouth. A Pugliese street pastry specific to the Altamura and Bari areas, made with the local olive oil rather than butter for frying, giving a distinctively different crispness.
Shatteringly crisp olive oil-fried puff pastry with molten vanilla cream escaping at the edges — the most honestly named pastry in Italy, designed to be eaten standing and enjoyed messily
{"Sfoglia: thinly rolled puff pastry squares, pre-baked at 200°C until very puffed and golden, then cooled","Crema pasticcera made thick enough to hold shape — it must not run when the warm pastry is sandwiched","Sandwich two pastry sheets with a thick layer of cold pastry cream immediately before frying","Fry in olive oil at 175°C, submerging immediately — the pastry layers open and the cream heats without melting","Dust with icing sugar immediately from the fryer; serve at once"}
{"Some Bari bakers add ricotta cheese mixed with the crema — a richer, more unctuous filling","The 'dirty mouth' aspect is not a flaw to fix — it is the experience of eating sporcamuss correctly","A light dusting of cinnamon mixed with the icing sugar is the Altamura variation"}
{"Warm pastry cream in the sandwich — it escapes immediately into the frying oil","Sunflower oil instead of olive oil — the characteristic flavour is lost","Pre-assembling too long before frying — the pastry absorbs moisture from the cream and loses its crunch"}
Pasticceria Pugliese — Nicola Montanaro