DessertsMedium

Bunuelos de Viento (Puffed Mexican Fritters)

Name: Bunuelos de Viento (Puffed Mexican Fritters)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 500 ml Vegetable oil for frying; 2 Anis estrella; 2 Cinnamon stick; 300 g Plain flour; 2 Eggs; 100 ml Milk; 50 g Butter; 200 g Piloncillo (raw cane sugar); 5 g Baking powder; 3 g Salt

5.0(1 rating)

55 min (30 prep + 25 cook) Medium 8 servings Nacional

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 20 Mar 2026 · Updated: 3 Jun 2026

Spherical hollow fried fritters, light as air, bathed in piloncillo and cinnamon syrup.

About this recipe

Bunuelos de viento are a spherical, hollow variant of the classic Mexican bunuelo. Unlike the flat version, these puff up when fried, creating a crispy hollow ball that is bathed in piloncillo syrup with cinnamon. Their name de viento (of wind) refers to the fact that they are filled with air, being extremely light and crunchy. A popular festive dessert at Christmas and New Year.

History & Origin

Bunuelos de viento represent one of the most spectacular variants of the Mexican bunuelo family. Whilst flat crispy bunuelos are the best known and associated with Christmas and posadas, the wind variety has its own special tradition. Their preparation technique requires a more elastic dough which, upon contact with hot oil, inflates to create a hollow golden sphere. This skill of making dough puff up like a balloon is an art that Mexican cooks have perfected over generations. The tradition of bunuelos in Mexico has Spanish and Moorish roots; the technique of frying dough in oil arrived with the conquistadors, who had learnt it from Arab cuisine during eight centuries of Muslim presence on the Iberian Peninsula. In Mexico, bunuelos were Mexicanised with the use of piloncillo instead of refined sugar, and with the addition of anise and cinnamon to the dough. Bunuelos de viento are especially popular in the central states such as Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico City, where they are sold at street stalls during the Christmas season. In Oaxaca there is a tradition at the Night of the Radishes where bunuelos de viento are also sold, and diners smash the clay plates on which they are served to make a wish.

Estimated cost

£4.80

Total cost

£0.60

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

280

Calories

Protein

34g

Carbohydrates

14g

Fat

Fibre

120mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Boil the milk with the butter, the anis estrella and a pinch of salt. Remove from the heat, desecha the anis and deja entibiar.
💡 El anis le da a aroma sutil; not it dejes demasiado tiempo or dominara the flavour.
2
Mix the flour with the baking powder. Add the eggs and the warm milk. Knead for 10 minutes until you have an elastic, soft dough.
💡 The dough should be elastic and not sticky. Add flour if necessary.
3
Leave to rest the dough tapada with a trapo humedo for 30 minutes.
💡 El reposo permite that the gluten relaje and the dough infle mejor to the freir.
4
Divide the dough into 16 bolitas. Stretch each bolita in a disc very thin and frie in oil hot (180°C). La dough inflara formando a esfera.
💡 Submerge the dough with a spoon and banala with oil hot for that infle.
5
Frie until esten dorados on all sides. Take out and drain on papel absorbente.
💡 No the pinches to the sacar or desinflaran.
6
Prepare the syrup: boil the piloncillo (raw cane sugar) with water and cinnamon for 15 minutes. Drench the buñuelos with the hot syrup and serve.
💡 You can also dust them with sugar and cinnamon instead of syrup.

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Edmond Bojalil

Founder, Recetas Mexas

Mexican from Puebla, IT professional and foodie. Author of 1000+ authentic Mexican recipes adapted for home kitchens worldwide. Based in Madrid since 2018.