Buñuelos de Viento
Today, I spent the day wrapping Christmas gifts, baking cookies and making my favorite holiday dessert: buñuelos de viento.
Not to be confused with traditional Mexican buñuelos made with a rodillo (or tortilla roller), these light and crispy treats are made with a buñuelera. Also known as a rosette mold, this special cooking tool is made out of cast aluminum with a long handle attached to it. These molds can be found online, kitchen supply stores or the larger ones at Latin markets.
Buñuelos de viento are served during posadas and fiestas Decembrinas (December celebrations). They can be topped with sugar, piloncillo syurp, cinnamon-sugar, powdered sugar and even cacao powder or ground up Mexican chocolate tablets. It’s completely up to you and your preference.
I decided to keep mine simple and just dust them with granulated sugar. The taste is similar to an airy churro because I decided to include the ground cinnamon in the batter instead of as a topping. Either way you choose, it’s delicious.
Buñuelos de viento can be served with your favorite hot drink. I prefer Mexican hot chocolate, champurrado or atole to keep it traditional and festive during posadas.
These are perfect as edible gifts or to make ahead. They keep crispy for a few days and are pretty to package in a see-thru cellophane bags tied with colorful ribbon. Just remember that they are quite fragile. Be careful during the packaging process and during transport. This delightful dessert can easily crumble to a million pieces if mishandled, before it gets to its recipient.
The yield of this recipe varies. If you are using the small (Nordic) rosette molds, the batter can make up to 40. If you opt for the larger (Mexican) mold, the batter will make about 20. Double up on ingredients if you are not sure. People love these and will go fast. I recommend to make an extra batch or two. Your holiday guests will be glad you did.
I believe this will be my last post for 2018. What a year! I wanted to thank you for following along in my food journey. I have so many new projects in the works that I will be disclosing soon. Stay tuned!
For now I want to wish you and your families a joyous holiday season and a safe and happy New Year! Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo! Un beso y abrazo para todos!
Buñuelos de Viento
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: about 40 1x
Description
Celebrate the holidays with traditional light and airy buñuelos de viento.
Ingredients
2 cups whole milk, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt (1/8 teaspoon).
2 eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
Whisk together milk, flour, vanilla, salt, eggs and cinnamon in a large bowl. Run through a fine mesh sieve into another large bowl. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes. Batter should be thin and runny, resembling pancake batter.
Place sugar in a large shallow plate and set aside.
Heat approximately 1-inch depth of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Dip rosette mold or buñuelera in oil, making sure mold is evenly covered by hot oil. Working quickly, dip hot-oiled mold into batter, covering bottom of mold and sides, do not cover top of mold. Dip in hot oil, carefully shaking mold up and down until batter unsticks into hot oil. Fry for 10 seconds or until browned lightly. Turn using wooden skewer, fry for 10 seconds more.
Transfer buñuelo to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil. Place in shallow plate with sugar and cover lightly with sugar on both sides using a spoon. Place on a large tray and repeat until all batter has been used.
Notes
Special equipment:
rosette mold (or buñuelera)
wooden skewer
