Making Buñuelos de viento (puffy fried balls in syrup) take little time and just a few ingredients you may already have at home. A Lenten tradition in our country, these can be enjoyed throughout the year. Grab this recipe and your delantal and enjoy buñuelos today!
By - Reviewed: . Original: Mar 28, 2013
Why we ❤️ it
These puffy, fluffy, fried dough balls, bathed in a spiced homemade syrup are a wonderful Lenten tradition in our country.
They are the perfect dessert to finish meals during Lent or to treat guests any time of the year.
What are buñuelos de viento
Buñuelos de viento appears all over the Hispanic world. It is a dessert traditionally served in Spain, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and many other Hispanic countries during Lent, Christmas, or All Saints Day, depending on the region.
In the Dominican Republic, it is consumed mostly during the Lenten period.
While in other countries, it is often seen dusted with cinnamon sugar, Dominicans generally prefer it bathed in a lightly spiced syrup (almíbar). I give you both choices here.
Note that the name buñuelo, like everything else in Spanish, is used for several things with little in common between them. Dominican buñuelos de viento are much closer to the Spanish traditional ones.
I assume the origin of the name "de viento" (windy) is that they are beignet-like air-filled balls, that deflate when bit. The process requires no raising agent and occurs because the water in the dough quickly turns to water vapor in contact with the hot oil.
Buñuelos de viento.
Serving suggestions
Serve buñuelos either dusted with sugar and cinnamon or bathed in syrup, not both. Syrup. is the most traditional option.
Buñuelos are typically served as dessert during Lent. You can serve it alongside a cup of Dominican cafecito, or perhaps Té de jengibre tea if your guests do not like coffee.
Top tips
- Adding the eggs to the dough: When adding the eggs to the cooked dough, you need to let the dough cool thoroughly and rest for 20 minutes before adding the eggs. Then stir vigorously to combine the dough and eggs.
- Cinnamon: We traditionally prefer cinnamon sticks to make the syrup, but you can substitute a teaspoon of ground cinnamon if you don't have cinnamon sticks.
- Vanilla extract: Some people vanilla to buñuelos, though I don't think it's that common. If you'd like to do it, adding half a teaspoon of dark or white vanilla extract to the syrup mixture would do.
About this recipe
Buñuelos is one of those recipes that seem intimidating at first, and then you try it and find out they are quite easy to make. I have not made any changes to the traditional way it's made, aside from offering cinnamon sugar as a serving option.
You will notice that the dough has very little sugar; the reason is that when served with a very sweet syrup, it would be cloying if the dough were also sweet.
If you add any extra ingredients to your buñuelos, please let us know in the comments.
Video
Recipe
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Buñuelos de Viento [Video+Recipe] Puffy Fried Balls in Syrup
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 1 cup brown sugar, [200 g]
- 1 cinnamon stick
- A small piece of lime peel, (about ½ inch)
For cinnamon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ cup sugar, (white, granulated) [50 g]
For the buñuelos
- 2 egg , (medium)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon lime zest
- ½ cup milk, (whole or skim)
- 2 ounces salted butter, (salted) [55 g or ¼ US stick]
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar , (white, granulated)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, [80 g], sifted
- 3 cups oil for frying
Instructions
1. Make syrup or cinnamon sugar
⚠️ If you serve it with syrup: Mix sugar, cinnamon, lime zest, and 1 cup of water. Boil over low heat until a third of it has evaporated. Remove from the heat and remove the cinnamon stick and lime peel. Set aside.⚠️ If you serve it with cinnamon sugar: Mix sugar and cinnamon until combined. Set aside
2. Whisk eggs
- Whisk eggs. Sift to remove undissolved parts. Set aside.
3. Make the dough
- Mix milk, cinnamon, salt, sugar, and lime zest in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Add butter. When it breaks a boil, add the flour all at once. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until you obtain a smooth dough that doesn't stick to the saucepan. Remove the dough from the heat and let it cool down (about 10 minutes, see notes).
4. Add eggs
- Pour ⅓ of the whisked egg into the dough. Mix stirring and folding until the egg is thoroughly combined with the batter. Add the remaining egg in 2 separate parts, making sure the previous portion is well incorporated before adding more egg. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
5. Fry
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat (300 ºF [150 ºC]). Once the oil is hot, use two serving teaspoons, scooping the dough from one teaspoon to the other, form a round(ish) ball, and drop it carefully into the oil. Be mindful that they will double in size, so I found that a ball of dough the size of a large olive turns into a buñuelo about the size of a small lime.Fry them three at a time to prevent the oil from cooling down too much. Cook the balls rotating once they float until they brown all over. Place on a paper towel and let them cool down.
6. Serve
- Serve immediately bathed in the syrup, or dusted with cinnamon sugar.See some suggestions above the recipe.
Cook's Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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More lent desserts
The king of Lenten desserts is undoubtedly Habichuelas con dulce, a uniquely Dominican sweet cream of beans. There's a Buñuelos de yuca version that, to me, appears to be more popular in our country, and it's also served during Lent.
Another Dominican-only choice is Chacá (Maíz caquiao), popular in some homes as a Lent dish, as is Mala rabia. For some Dominican-inspired dish, try my Helado de habichuelas con dulce. And for something completely new, buñuelos de viento are similar to these apple fritters.
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