Bunyols de Quaresma

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gplain flour
• 100 mlwhole milk, warm
• 12 gfresh yeast or 5 g instant dried yeast
• 3eggs
• 60 gcaster sugar
• 70 gunsalted butter, softened, or 70 ml mild olive oil
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbspanise liqueur such as anis del mono, or 1 tsp ground aniseed
• 1 pinchsalt

To fry and finish

• 1 litremild olive oil or sunflower oil, for deep frying
• 150 gcaster sugar, for rolling
• 1 tspground cinnamon (optional)

Optional filling

• 400 mlcrema catalana or thick pastry cream, chilled
• a piping bag with a narrow nozzle

Directions

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with a teaspoon of the sugar and leave for 10 minutes, until it foams.
2. Beat the eggs with the remaining sugar, the lemon zest, the anise liqueur and the salt until pale and slightly frothy.
3. Mix in the flour and the yeasted milk, then work in the softened butter a little at a time, kneading for 8 to 10 minutes until you have a soft, smooth, slightly sticky dough that pulls away from the bowl.
4. Cover and prove in a warm place for 1 hour to 1 hr 30 min, until doubled in size and clearly airy when you press it.
5. Knock back gently and, with oiled hands, pull off pieces the size of a walnut, roll them into balls and set them on an oiled tray.
6. Push a finger through the centre of each to make a small hole, which is the traditional shape and helps them cook evenly, or leave them solid if you plan to fill them.
7. Rest the shaped bunyols for 20 minutes, until visibly puffed and light to lift.
8. Heat the oil to 170°C (350°F) and fry four or five at a time for about 2 minutes a side, turning once, until deep golden and risen, with a pale ring around the middle showing they rose in the oil.
9. Lift onto a rack to drain for a minute, then roll them in sugar mixed with cinnamon while still warm so it clings.
10. If filling them, let them cool, then pierce the side with a nozzle and pipe in cold crema catalana until they feel heavy. Eat the same day; they stale quickly.

Technique

• Bunyols de Quaresma are Lenten food, eaten through Lent and above all on Good Friday, which is why the recipe uses butter or olive oil and no animal fat.
• Frying at 170°C (350°F) is the pivot point. Cooler and they drink oil, hotter and the outside colours while the yeasted centre stays raw, so use a thermometer and let the oil recover between batches.
• The pale ring around the middle is the mark of a well-risen bunyol: it shows the fritter floated and expanded rather than sinking and stewing.
• The anise is not optional in Catalonia and Andorra; it is the flavour people identify the fritter by.

Substitutions

• No anise liqueur: 1 tsp crushed aniseed steeped in the warm milk gives the same aroma without alcohol.
• Olive oil in the dough and for frying is the older mountain practice and gives a more savoury, robust fritter than butter and sunflower oil.

Variations

• Bunyols de l’Emporda are made with a higher proportion of egg and no filling.
• Bunyols de vent, wind fritters, use a choux-style batter and puff hollow, often filled with cream.
• Some bakeries fill them with sweet pumpkin jam or with thick chocolate rather than crema catalana.

History

Sold in Andorran and Catalan bakeries only during Lent, an old meatless fasting sweet.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bunyols de Quaresma?

Bunyols de Quaresma is a dessert from Andorra: small round Lenten fritters, sugared or filled with cream. Sold in Andorran and Catalan bakeries only during Lent, an old meatless fasting sweet.

How long does Bunyols de Quaresma take to make?

Bunyols de Quaresma takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min proving plus 20 min frying of cooking. The recipe makes about 30 fritters. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Bunyols de Quaresma?

Yes, within limits. No anise liqueur: 1 tsp crushed aniseed steeped in the warm milk gives the same aroma without alcohol. Olive oil in the dough and for frying is the older mountain practice and gives a more savoury, robust fritter than butter and sunflower oil.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bunyols de Quaresma?

Bunyols de Quaresma are Lenten food, eaten through Lent and above all on Good Friday, which is why the recipe uses butter or olive oil and no animal fat.