Pumpkin and squash appear frequently in South American sweets – think creamy flan or picarones, Peru’s free-form pumpkin doughnuts, served soused with syrup at street-side stalls. This is our version: instead of soaking them in syrup, we dust ours with icing sugar and cinnamon, and serve them with a rich dulce de leche cream.
Ingredients
Dulce de leche cream
Method
Main
1.Steam pumpkin until tender (10-15 minutes), then transfer to a bowl and mash. Cool briefly, stir in butter, sugar and egg yolk, then flour, baking powder, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and mix until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead until soft and silky, then cover loosely with a clean tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.
2.Meanwhile, for dulce de leche cream, stir ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat until melted, then refrigerate until required.
3.Heat oil in a deep saucepan to 180C. Roll out dough to 1cm thick and cut out 6cm rounds with a cutter. Make a hole in the centre of each, then deep-fry in batches, turning occasionally, until puffed and golden (2-3 minutes). Drain on paper towels, dust with icing sugar and cinnamon, and serve hot with dulce de leche cream for dipping.
Dulce de leche is a Spanish and Latin American caramel made with milk. It’s available from Latin American and Spanish shops.
Notes