Buñuelos de Viento

In a bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the milk, melted butter and vanilla.

In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt.

In the soup bowl mix the cinnamon sugar.

Gradually add the flour mix to the egg-milk mixture, beating with a whisk until you have a very uniform and smooth batter. The texture should resemble that of thin pancake batter. Let the batter rest while you set up your frying station.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat to around 180oC. While the oil is heating, line a baking tray with paper towels to drain the freshly fried buñuelos on, a plate with paper towels to place and blot the buñuelos iron in between frying, a soup bowl with the sugar and cinnamon and your batter. 

To make the buñuelos, place the rosette iron in the hot oil initially for a couple of minutes to get hot. Once it’s heated, lift it up from the oil, drain off excess oil, then place it on the tray/plate with the paper towels to blot, too much oil means the batter will not adhere to it. Then dip the iron into the batter but only just to cover the sides of the mould, if it goes over the top of the mould it will stick. You will hear a sizzling sound as the heat of the iron tip starts cooking the batter it has touched. Immediately lift the iron rosette out of the batter bowl and rotate the iron as you would when pouring red wine and hold it up so you can see the bottom of the mould. You will see that the iron is cooking the batter, this is good before you then dip it into the hot oil. 

Now gently shake the mould up and down in the oil to make it release itself. Once it is free-floating, allow to become golden, there is no need to flip it, and remember that it continues to go brown when removed from the oil. They should be crisp and golden.

When cooked, remove the buñuelos allowing them to drain completely over the pan. Then place face down in the bowl of cinnamon sugar and then place face up on the tray with the paper towels. Repeat, reheating the iron for a couple of seconds before blotting and dipping in the batter, then the hot oil, until you have used up all the batter. 

After this, are ready to be eaten, you deserve a pat on the back and a stack of them served with a large black coffee.

Top tip: It is best not to wash these with soap and water, just rinse in hot water, dry and store with a bag around the iron.

Not suitable for the dishwasher. 

Problems and solutions: 

1.) the batter won't there to the iron

- the iron is too hot, this is especially evident when it leaves cooked batter in the batter bowl, remove the cooked batter and allow the iron to cool slightly, also there could be too much oil on the surface of the batter as you leave a slick when dipping - whisk the batter and ensure to blot.

2.) the buñuelos won't release from the iron in the hot oil

- ensure you have only dipped to the sides of the iron and the batter did not come over the top, if this happens carefully use a toothpick or skewer to pick the buñuelos off.

3.) the sugar won't stick to the buñuelos

- the sugar sticks the best when still warm, so try to make sure you lay it face down into the sugar when warm.