Buñuelos de Viento / Wind Fritters

Buñuelos de viento / Spanish Wind Fritters

It's Carnival week in many places around the world and, ultimately since I live in London, we haven't got many chances to celebrate it as we used to in Barcelona, my hometown. For me was a time of getting dressed in fun costumes (I had lots of fun dressing up my kids), street music, carnival parades, getting together with friends and family, and always being surrounded by good food.

My mum used to make for us 'Buñols de vent' which is the Catalan name of Wind Fritters or Buñuelos de Viento in Spanish. Nowadays you can find them easily in many patisseries around Spain.

It is a soft and light sweet dessert made of a mixture of sugar, butter, flour, water, eggs, and a bit of Aniseed liquor. They are so much fun to fry as the fluffy balls will turn by themselves after a few minutes of frying them, meaning they are done and ready.

Here is the recipe! Ready to have fun?

What do you need:

✅ Kitchen robot or

✅ Saucepan

Ingredients:

✔ 170g of all-purpose flour

✔ 4 medium eggs

✔ 30g caster sugar

✔ 50g butter

✔ 225ml water

✔ 1/2 tsp dry yeast

✔ Lemon zest

✔ 25ml Aniseed liquor

Method for Kitchen Robot:

👉 If you use a Kitchen robot (mine is Mambo Cecotec, a Spanish brand similar to the Thermomix, nowadays there are a good variety of kitchen robots at great prices and high quality and power)

• Add sugar, water, butter, and the lemon zest and use the program of cooking at 100ºC, speed 2 for 2 minutes. Add the Aniseed liquor and cook same speed for 1 minute.

• Add flour and yeast and use speed 4 for 15 seconds.

• Now we add the eggs one by one at a speed 4, waiting to add another egg until it has been integrated.

• Cover and leave it to rest for half an hour.

• It's time to fry. Heat a frying pan with plenty of oil and start to fry the little balls in batches of 4 or 5 maximum, as they will need a bit of space. Use a couple of spoons to help you make the little balls. Wait and you will see how they will turn magically by themselves, as I mentioned meaning they are ready.

• Leave them to rest on a tray with kitchen paper.

• Finally serve and sprinkle some icing sugar on top!!👇

Method for Saucepan:

• Add water, sugar, and butter into a saucepan adding lemon zest too, and cook until starts to boil.

• At this point add the flour in one batch and stir with a whisk until starts to get firm and comes off the bottom of the saucepan.

• Add the eggs one by one until they get integrated with the mixture.

• Leave the mixture to rest for half an hour and then make the balls, either with two tablespoons or with your oiled hands. Fry them in small batches the same way as in the previous method.

• Serve in a nice bowl and have fun sprinkling some icing sugar.

 

TIPS: 

1. For making the dough will be ideal to use a non-stick saucepan. 
2. Add the eggs one by one, add another egg when the dough absorbs the egg, and continue stirring. 
3. Frying the balls in a deep pan with plenty of oil, vegetable, or sunflower is good for frying quantities. Important, the ideal temperature to fry is 180-190°C otherwise they may be raw in the middle and too brown on the outside. If you can, use a food thermometer. Fry them in batches of 4 or 5 maximum. Add the sugar when the fritters are still a bit hot, this way the sugar will stick better. 
4. You can fill them with custard, cream, or truffle chocolate.

Enjoy!!