Colombian Buñuelos (Fried Cheese Balls)

5 from 1 vote

Colombian buñuelos are fried cheese balls, savoury with a hint of sweetness, crisp outside and light inside. They are Christmas food, eaten with natilla, and nothing like the flat cinnamon-sugar buñuelos of Mexico. A good one turns itself over in the oil. Makes about ten.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Colombian

Keyword: Cheese fritters, colombian buñuelos

Servings:

Calories: 373kcal

Author: Angela Giraldo

Ingredients

125 g queso costeño (dry salty white cheese) about 4½ oz; queso fresco with a little feta approximates it
125 g cuajada (fresh curd cheese) about 4½ oz; queso fresco or farmer's cheese, crumbled dry
250 g colmaíz (Colombian buñuelo mix) about 9 oz; a ready mix of corn and cassava starch with sugar, salt and baking soda. Sold in Latin groceries as mezcla para buñuelos. It is NOT plain cornstarch
30 g sugar about 2½ tbsp
50 g cassava starch about ⅓ cup; also sold as tapioca starch or almidón de yuca
1 egg
Water or milk added little by little; the dough should not get wet
Oil, for deep frying enough depth for the balls to float and turn

Instructions

In a bowl, crumble both cheeses with your fingers until fine, and set aside. The finer they are, the smoother the dough.
In another bowl, mix the colmaíz with the cassava starch, then add the cheeses and mix with your hands.
Add the sugar, the egg and a little water or milk, and knead.
Add the liquid little by little. The dough should come together but stay on the dry side: a wet dough cracks open in the oil.
Once it is well kneaded and even, start heating the oil. Meanwhile, roll the dough into balls, smoothing each one between your palms until the surface has no seams.
To test the oil, drop in a small ball of dough: it should rise to the surface in about 4 seconds. Faster means the oil is too hot, slower means it is too cold.
Put the buñuelos in the oil and let them fry. They turn themselves over as they cook, which is the sign that dough and temperature are right. When they stop turning and are golden all over, lift them out and drain.

Nutrition