Buñuelos de Molde Yucatecos

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Bronze or cast iron rosette mold (molde para buñuelos)
• •Deep heavy pot at least 3 inches deep for frying
• •Clip-on candy or frying thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve for the batter and the miel
• •Wire rack set over a sheet pan for draining

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the batter

   In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until pale. Add the milk, water, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Sift the flour and cornstarch over the top and whisk until completely smooth. The batter should coat the back of a spoon like heavy cream and run off in a steady ribbon. Lumps will keep the iron from releasing the buñuelo clean. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if you doubt it.

   Let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. The flour hydrates and the bubbles settle. A rested batter clings to the iron evenly. A fresh batter slides off in patches.
2. 2

   Make the miel de piloncillo y anís

   While the batter rests, combine the chopped piloncillo, 2 cups water, the canela stick, anise seed, and orange peel in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the syrup coats the back of a spoon and a drop pulled between your fingers stretches into a short thread. It will thicken more as it cools. Strain into a jug and keep warm. This miel is what makes a yucateco buñuelo yucateco. No me vengas con atajos: do not use corn syrup, do not skip the anise.

   If the piloncillo refuses to break down, chop it finer or grate it. The cones from Veracruz dissolve faster than the harder ones from the north.
3. 3

   Heat the lard and the mold

   Pour the lard into a deep heavy pot, at least three inches deep, and clip a thermometer to the side. Submerge the rosette mold in the cold lard and bring everything to 365°F over medium heat. The mold has to be in the fat from the start. A cold iron sheds the batter. A properly heated iron grabs the batter, holds it for the dunk, and lets it go when the buñuelo is crisp. This is the secret of every yucateca who owns a molde de bronce inherited from her mother.

   If you are using a brand-new mold, season it first: dip it in oil, fry it in clean lard for ten minutes, wipe it down, and let it cool. A seasoned iron releases the batter. A bare iron fights you.
4. 4

   Dip and fry the first buñuelo

   Lift the hot mold out of the lard, tap off the excess on the rim of the pot, and dip it into the batter. The batter must come up the sides of the mold but not over the top. If it goes over the top, the buñuelo will not release. Hold it in the batter for one second, lift, and lower the dressed mold back into the hot lard. Count to three. The buñuelo should slide off the iron on its own as it cooks. If it sticks, give it a gentle shake.

   The first one is always a sacrifice. It tells you whether the batter is the right thickness and the iron is the right heat. Adjust before the second.
5. 5

   Fry to a pale gold

   Once the buñuelo releases, fry for 45 to 60 seconds, flipping once with a slotted spoon, until the disk is pale gold with darker tips at the petals. Do not let it darken to caramel. The buñuelo yucateco is delicate, almost ivory, with the floral pattern crisp and intact. Drain on paper or on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Return the mold to the lard between buñuelos to keep it hot.

6. 6

   Dust while warm

   Combine the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and the tablespoon of ground canela on a wide plate. While each buñuelo is still warm, lay it in the cinnamon sugar and tap it gently so the sugar catches on the ridges. The warmth makes the sugar cling. A cold buñuelo refuses it.

7. 7

   Serve with the miel

   Stack the buñuelos on a wide clay plate, the kind they sell in the Mercado Lucas de Gálvez in Mérida, and pour the warm miel de piloncillo into a small jarrito on the side. Each person drizzles their own. A buñuelo soaked from the kitchen turns soggy by the time it reaches the table. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •The mold is the recipe. A heavy bronze or cast iron rosette mold from a Mexican kitchenware shop is worth every peso. Thin aluminum molds warp in hot lard and refuse to release the batter cleanly. If you do not have one, do not attempt this dish with a substitute. Make hand-stretched buñuelos from central Mexico instead. Different dish, same season.
• •Lard makes a better buñuelo than oil. The flavor is rounder, the crisp is shorter, and the buñuelo does not taste of fryer. La manteca es el sabor, even in dessert. If you must use oil, use a neutral one with a high smoke point and accept that you have made a compromise.
• •Piloncillo from Veracruz or Michoacán dissolves more easily than the harder cones from the north. If your piloncillo is rock-hard, chop it small and start the syrup with a little extra water. The miel should pour like warm honey, not run like tea.
• •True Mexican canela is Ceylon cinnamon, soft-barked and easy to break with your fingers. The hard rolled bark sold as cassia cinnamon in American supermarkets is not the same spice. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado for canela de Ceylán.

Advance Preparation

• •The miel de piloncillo can be made up to one week ahead and refrigerated. Warm gently before serving so it pours.
• •The batter can be made up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerated, then brought back to room temperature before frying.
• •Fried buñuelos keep crisp at room temperature in a loosely covered container for up to 2 days. Do not refrigerate. The humidity will soften them. Dust with sugar only on the day you serve them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 40g)