Portuguese farturas

If you have ever been to a Portuguese festa, you know farturas by smell before sight: long ribbons of choux-style dough piped in spirals into hot oil, fried golden, cut into lengths and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Fairground happiness, engineered.

They are cousins of Spanish churros but fluffier — crisp shell, tender doughy heart — and in Portugal they are inseparable from festival season, eaten hot from a paper cone while the queue behind you grows.

Making them at home takes one saucepan, a piping bag with a star tip, and a little courage at the fryer. The reward: farturas whenever you want them, no ferris wheel required.

Farturas Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes · Cook time: 10 minutes · Total: 25 minutes · Servings: 8 · Calories: ~354 per serving

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• For the coating:
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Bring the water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Lower the heat and add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously until the dough forms a ball and pulls from the pan, about 1 minute.
3. Cool slightly, then beat in the eggs one at a time until smooth and glossy.
4. Heat oil to 375°F in a deep fryer or deep skillet.
5. Pipe spiraled ribbons of dough into the oil through a large star tip, snipping with scissors to release.
6. Fry until golden, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
7. Roll the warm farturas in the cinnamon sugar and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

• Steady oil temperature is everything: too hot browns them raw inside, too cool makes them greasy.
• The dough should hold its ridges when piped — those ridges are where the crunch lives.
• Fry in small batches, and eat without delay: farturas are a now food.