Buñuelos de Rodilla Poblanos

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy pot or deep cazuela for frying
• •Clean cotton servilleta or thin kitchen towel for stretching over the knee
• •Rolling pin
• •Kitchen thermometer
• •Wire rack or colander for draining
• •Clay jarro or small cazuela for the piloncillo syrup

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the syrup

   Put the piloncillo, water, canela, star anise, anise seed, guavas, orange peel, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a steady simmer and cook 20 to 25 minutes, until the piloncillo dissolves and the syrup coats a spoon lightly. The guava should soften and perfume the syrup, not fall apart into jam. Keep it warm. In Puebla, the syrup goes on generously.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   In a wide bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, melted manteca, warm water, crushed anise seed, and vanilla. Mix with your hand until a rough dough forms. It should feel firm but not dry. If flour remains at the bottom, add warm water one tablespoon at a time.

3. 3

   Knead until smooth

   Turn the dough onto a clean table and knead 10 to 12 minutes, until it becomes smooth, elastic, and slightly glossy. This dough must stretch thin later, so do the work now. La cocina no es decoración, es trabajo. If it tears immediately when pulled, knead two minutes more.

4. 4

   Rest the dough

   Divide the dough into 18 small balls, each about the size of a lime. Rub each one with a thin film of oil or melted manteca and set them on a tray. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and rest 45 minutes. Resting relaxes the dough so it stretches instead of fighting you. No me vengas con atajos.

   If your kitchen is dry, cover the tray with plastic wrap under the towel. A dry skin on the dough will tear when you stretch it.
5. 5

   Stretch over the knee

   Cover one knee with a clean cotton servilleta or thin kitchen towel. Roll one dough ball into a small circle, then lay it over the cloth-covered knee and stretch gently from the center outward with the backs of your fingers. Rotate as you work. The buñuelo should become almost translucent, with uneven edges. That unevenness is correct. The knee gives the dough a rounded support so it thins without tearing. This is why they are called buñuelos de rodilla.

6. 6

   Dry the rounds

   Lay each stretched round on a clean tablecloth or floured tray while you stretch the rest. Let them air-dry 10 to 15 minutes, turning once. They should feel slightly leathery at the edges but still flexible. This short drying makes them blister and crisp in the fat.

7. 7

   Fry until crisp

   Heat 2 inches of neutral oil or fresh manteca de cerdo in a wide heavy pot to 350F. Slide in one buñuelo at a time. Press it gently under the surface with tongs for the first few seconds so it fries evenly, then turn once or twice until pale gold with darker freckles, about 45 to 60 seconds total. It should be crisp enough to rustle when lifted.

8. 8

   Drain and finish

   Drain the buñuelos upright in a colander or on a rack set over a tray. Do not stack them while they are hot or they will soften. Serve whole, cracked into pieces, or briefly dipped in the warm piloncillo syrup. In many Puebla homes, the syrup sits in a clay jarro and each person bathes their own. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh piloncillo that smells like cane and molasses. If it smells dusty or has no aroma, the syrup will taste flat. Ask the women at the market which cone is fresh.
• •Guavas should be ripe enough to smell before you cut them. If guava is not in season where you are, make the syrup with canela and anise only. A bad guava does nothing for you.
• •Manteca de cerdo in the dough gives tenderness and flavor. Butter makes a different pastry. Shortening makes a forgettable one. La manteca es el sabor.
• •The oil temperature matters. Too low and the buñuelo absorbs fat. Too high and it browns before it dries crisp. Keep it around 350F and fry one at a time.
• •Do not pour syrup over a whole stack unless you plan to eat them immediately. Crisp buñuelos and warm syrup meet at the table, not two hours before.

Advance Preparation

• •The piloncillo syrup can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently before serving so it pours easily.
• •The dough balls can rest covered at room temperature for up to 2 hours before stretching. Do not refrigerate them after dividing, or the fat firms and the dough resists stretching.
• •Fried buñuelos are best the same day. If needed, keep them uncovered in a dry place for a few hours and refresh briefly in a 300F oven before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 85g)