Farturas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium saucepan
• •Wooden spoon
• •Deep pot or Dutch oven for frying
• •Kitchen thermometer
• •Piping bag with large star tip (1.5cm)
• •Slotted spoon or spider
• •Wide shallow dish for coating

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the cinnamon sugar

   Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a wide shallow dish. Set aside. This needs to be ready the moment your farturas come out of the oil. Hot farturas, immediate coating. No delays.

2. 2

   Make the dough base

   In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Place over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. The butter must be completely melted and the mixture actively bubbling before you add the flour.

   The small amount of oil alongside the butter makes for a lighter, crispier fartura. This is what distinguishes them from heavier fried doughs.
3. 3

   Add the flour

   Remove the pan from heat. Add all the flour at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return to medium-low heat and keep stirring until the dough forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan and leaves a thin film on the bottom, about 2 minutes. The dough should look smooth and slightly glossy. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.

4. 4

   Incorporate the eggs

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. The dough will look like a disaster after each egg. Keep beating. It will come back together into a thick, smooth, pipeable paste that falls from the spoon in a thick ribbon. If it's too stiff, beat in another half egg. The consistency matters more than the exact count.

   A stand mixer with paddle attachment makes this easier, but a wooden spoon and strong arm work just as well. The feira vendors do it by hand, hundreds of times a day.
5. 5

   Prepare for frying

   Heat oil in a deep pot or Dutch oven to 180°C (350°F). Use a thermometer. Too cool and your farturas absorb oil and turn greasy. Too hot and they burn outside while staying raw inside. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (about 1.5cm) with the warm dough.

6. 6

   Pipe the spirals

   Hold the piping bag over the hot oil and pipe the dough in a spiral pattern, starting from the center and working outward to about 10-12cm diameter. Use scissors or a knife dipped in oil to cut the dough from the tip. Work in batches of 2-3 depending on your pot size. Don't crowd them.

   The spiral is the whole point. It creates more surface area for crispiness and more crevices to hold the cinnamon sugar. Don't pipe straight lines and call them farturas. That's something else entirely.
7. 7

   Fry until golden

   Fry the spirals for about 2-3 minutes per side, turning once with a slotted spoon or spider, until deep golden brown all over. The ridges from the star tip should be defined and crispy. Listen to them. They should sizzle steadily, not violently. Adjust your heat if needed.

8. 8

   Coat and serve

   Lift each fartura from the oil and drain briefly on paper towels, just for a few seconds. While still hot, roll it in the cinnamon sugar, pressing gently so the sugar sticks in all the grooves. Serve immediately. Farturas wait for no one. They're best eaten within minutes, standing up, preferably outside, definitely with powdered sugar falling down your shirt.

Chef Tips

• •The dough should be piped while still warm. If it cools too much and stiffens, gently rewarm the bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring constantly.
• •Portuguese cinnamon (canela) has a sweeter, more delicate flavor than the cassia cinnamon common elsewhere. If you can find Ceylon cinnamon, use that. It's worth seeking out.
• •Don't reuse the frying oil more than once or twice. Fartura dough releases moisture into the oil, breaking it down quickly. Fresh oil, cleaner taste.
• •At feiras, vendors use special fartura machines that pump and cut the dough automatically. At home, a piping bag and steady hand do the job. Practice on your first few. They'll still taste good even if they look like abstract art.

Advance Preparation

• •The cinnamon sugar can be mixed days ahead and stored in a jar.
• •The dough cannot be made ahead. It must be piped and fried while still warm. This is a make-and-eat-immediately situation. That's part of the magic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 45g)