Book of Days Tales

Today is Little Candles Day  (día de las velitas) in Colombia, celebrated on the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is a public holiday in Colombia, and is the unofficial start of the Christmas season in the country, as it also is in Argentina. On this night, people place candles and paper lanterns on windowsills, balconies, porches, sidewalks, streets, parks, and squares in honor of the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception.

Buñuelos are customary on this day in Colombia.  Buñuelos come in great variety across the Hispanic world. In Colombia they are made with a small curd white cheese and formed into doughy balls then fried golden brown. They use cassava flour and cornmeal instead of wheat flour. Buñuelos are also a traditional Christmas dish, served along with natillas and manjar blanco.

Ingredients

2 cups Colombian quesito or Mexican queso fresco finely grated
⅓ cup cassava flour
¼ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 large egg
1-2 tablespoons milk
vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Using a microplane, grate the cheese and place it in a bowl. Add in the cornstarch, cassava flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir to combine. Work the egg into the dry ingredients with your hands. Add in the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix it in, until you get a smooth dough. You may only need 1 tablespoon of milk, depending on the moisture content of the cheese and the size of the egg you use. So start with 1, and if the dough doesn’t come together smoothly, add the other.

Form the dough into 1 tablespoon sized balls. You should be able to make about 12 buñuelos with this recipe.

Using a slotted spoon or spider, gently place each buñuelo into the heated oil (preheated to 325°F/160°C). They will float to the surface within 30 seconds, and they start rotating themselves. When they stop rotating, flip them over once in a while, to promote even cooking.

Once they are a deep golden brown all over, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Straight from the fryer they are too scalding hot to eat!