They are found in a wide area of Spain with different names (flower heads, flowers, fried flowers, La Mancha flowers, Extremadura flowers...) and in order not to specify either the location or a specific name, at least we will all agree that they represent flowers and that are fried
Fried Flowers are representatives of ancient sweets in which a flour dough is fried in fat or oil and then sweetened with honey. This type of sweets were already documented since the times of Rome. To this same group belong the current pestiños, churros and a good number of European sweets, from Italy to Poland.
Fried Flowers are found in Castilla La Mancha and Extremadura, although they have now spread to a large number of other communities. I have seen them in Andalusia and Galicia, although they can be found throughout Spain. They used to be eaten during Carnival or Easter, although once again they have lost their timeliness to be accessible almost at any time of the year.
The first time I saw them, they seemed very difficult to make, but once you learn the technique, they are extremely easy to cook. You do, however, need a special mold that can be purchased at any store or on Amazon. There are very different types but I recommend the simplest ones since those with complicated watermarks have a tendency to break the flower if the dough with which they are impregnated is not perfect.
The technique is simple. We make a dough in which we wet the mold and then take the mold to the hot oil until the flower detaches from it.
INGREDIENTS :
- 300 grams (10 oz) of pastry flour
- 150 ml (3/4 cup) of milk
- 150 ml (3/4 cup) of water
- 6 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- 30 ml (1 tbsp + and a half) of anise, pomace or other liqueur to taste
- 1 orange or star anise (to taste)
- Icing sugar
- ground cinnamon (optional)
- Honey or syrup (optional)
- 80% sunflower/corn/canola oil + 20% extra virgin olive oil
First, pour the milk, water, beaten eggs, flour, eggs, liquor and a pinch of salt into the blender glass and mix well. It is the fastest way to make the dough, which on the other hand will be quite liquid, like custard or clear mayonnaise.
In a frying pan, heat the oil. You can only use sunflower oil but if you add olive oil the heating point will rise and you will be able to get a higher temperature before it smokes. That way it will be better.
In the oil we put a peel of orange peel - without the bitter part - or star anise. It is to give more flavor.
Now we must submerge the mold first in the hot oil.
Once the mold is hot, we submerge the mold in the dough that we have prepared but not completely, only three quarters of it. If we submerge it completely, the paste will adhere to the mold and it will be very difficult for it to come off.
Once the mold is already covered, we take it to the oil where we will submerge it. Quickly the frying will start bubbling and then, as if by magic, the batter will separate from the metal. It may do it slowly, let's be patient. If it's hard to come off, tapping the metal should suffice. Some will break, it's inevitable. It's one in five. If they are more, something is wrong with the pasta we have made.
Now the "free" flower will float on the oil and the bubbling will have decreased a lot. That means it's already fried. We collect with a slotted spoon or similar and leave on a rack to drain the excess oil, to finally transfer it to absorbent paper to remove as much oil as possible. The less oily, the better.
Finally, sprinkle with icing sugar and cinnamon powder (the latter is optional).
Also if you want they can be bathed in a light syrup or even in honey.
A sweet that you will repeat often, of that I am sure.