This Latin American dessert is traditionally cooked and eaten during Las Posadas, an annual celebration that spans the nine days leading up to Christmas. The word Viento is Spanish for wind, and true to their name, these crispy sweet treats feel as light and airy as a butterfly’s wing in your hand. Buñuelos are delightfully fun to make and will satisfy your sweet tooth without the heaviness of many fried foods, so you can keep dancing through any and all holiday celebrations you may have planned. We promise, if you serve these to your friends and family they will beg you for this cinnamon sugar fritters.
Buñuelos de Viento
Jamie Aragonez
Category
Holiday, Dessert
This Latin American dessert is traditionally cooked and eaten during Las Posadas, an annual celebration that spans the nine days leading up to Christmas. The word Viento is Spanish for wind, and true to their name, these crispy sweet treats feel as light and airy as a butterfly’s wing in your hand. Buñuelos are delightfully fun to make and will satisfy your sweet tooth without the heaviness of many fried foods, so you can keep dancing through any and all holiday celebrations you may have planned. We promise, if you serve these to your friends and family they will beg you for this cinnamon sugar fritters.
Ingredients
- For the Buñuelo Batter:
- 2 eggs
- 1-1/4 cup whole fat milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1-1/2cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- For the Cinnamon Sugar Dust:
- 1-1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon
- For Frying:
- 6 cups vegetable oil
- Note:
- There are two specialty pieces of equipment you will need in order to be successful with this recipe.
- 1. A buñuelo or rosette iron. These can be found in a variety of shapes and are available online or at your local mercado or kitchen store.
- 2. A candy thermometer. The temperature of the frying oil is key! Too cold and the buñuelo won't release, and too hot and it will burn on the edges and be raw in the middle. Candy thermometers can be found at any cooking store
Directions
- For the Buñuelo Batter:In a large bowl, lightly whisk together the eggs, milk and oil until just combined.In a second bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Slowly pour your wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Whisk until the batter is smooth, about 30 seconds.For the Cinnamon Sugar Dust:In a medium-sized bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon toast spice and set aside.For Frying:Fill a deep 10 inch frying pan with the 6 cups of vegetable oil and turn the heat to medium high heat until the oil reaches 350°, then place the rosette iron in the oil for about one minute.Take the rosette out of the oil and carefully dip it half way into the batter. (Don’t completely submerge the rosette into the batter, the batter will coat and cling onto the rosette and not release). The iron needs to be hot enough so when dipped into the batter, it lightly hisses.Place the rosette back into the oil and gently shake until the buñuelo releases into the oil. A fork or tongs may come in handy to help release the buñuelo. (There WILL be some casualties as you begin frying, this is as inevitable as the first pancake of the batch being a little weird, don’t be disheartened).Fry for 30 seconds to a minute then flip over with tongs and fry another 30 seconds to a minute until the buñuelo is crispy and evenly golden.Gently transfer the fried buñuelos to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.Repeat until you run out of batter or patience, whichever comes first.Once the buñuelos have cooled slightly, use your hands to toss the buñuelos in the cinnamon sugar mixture until evenly coated.Buñuelos are best eaten the day of frying, or stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.Pair them with a cup of coffee, hot cocoa or on top of ice cream.
Note
Instead of using Cinnamon Toast Spice for the sugar mixture, why not try Poudre Douce , Gingerbread Spice , Cinnamon - Cassia Vietnamese , Advieh ,Pumpkin Pie Spice , or Cinnamon - Cassia Indonesian .
