Buñuelos de Viento — 'wind fritters' — are small, hollow puffs of choux-like dough, fried golden and dusted with sugar and cinnamon, sometimes filled with pastry cream. They are the sweet of All Saints' Day (Día de Todos los Santos), eaten across Spain on November 1st, light as air and impossible to stop eating.
Buñuelos de Viento are the traditional sweet of All Saints' Day (November 1st) in Spain, with roots in Sephardic Jewish and Moorish frying traditions. They appear in every Spanish bakery in the days around the holiday. The name 'wind' comes from their hollow lightness — the dough puffs up around a pocket of air, so the center stays empty (or is filled with cream). They are the Spanish answer to French profiteroles, with deep-frying instead of baking.
A warm, golden ball, feather-light, that collapses to a sweet airy nothing on the tongue. The outside is sugared and faintly cinnamoned; the inside is hollow or filled with a dab of cream. Three disappear before you notice. Eat them hot, fresh from the fry.
The dough is a choux-like paste (water, butter, flour, eggs) cooked first on the stovetop, then deep-fried. The high moisture in the dough turns to steam in the hot oil, puffing the dough into a hollow ball. The oil must be at the right temperature (175°C): too low, the buñuelos absorb oil and go greasy; too high, they brown before they puff. They are filled after frying through a small hole.
Variations
Some are filled with pastry cream, custard, chocolate, or whipped cream; some are unfilled; the dough may include anise or lemon zest.
On the Palate
Where Buñuelos de Viento sits in the Spanish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12
How it's made
8 steps · 45 min active + 30 min waiting
- 15 min
In a saucepan, bring 250 ml water, 60 g butter, a pinch of salt, and 1 tbsp sugar to a boil.
- 25 min
Off the heat, stir in 150 g flour all at once; return to heat; cook, stirring, until the dough leaves the sides.
Watch outCook the paste, stirring, until it pulls together into a ball and films the pan bottom — that dried-out dough is what lets it puff hollow.
- 38 min
Cool 5 minutes; beat in 4 eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each.
- 45 min
Heat olive oil (or sunflower) to 175°C in a deep pan.
Watch outHold the oil at one-seventy-five — too cool and they soak oil and stay dense; too hot and they brown before the inside puffs and cooks.
- 516 min
Drop tablespoonfuls of dough into the oil; fry in batches, turning, until golden and puffed, about 4 minutes.
Watch outThey're done when puffed, hollow-light, and deep golden all over, turning as they fry — pale patches mean the inside is still raw dough.
- 63 min
Drain on paper; roll in a mix of sugar and cinnamon.
- 710 min
Optional: fill each buñuelo with pastry cream through a small slit.
- 81 min
Serve warm, the same day.
