Nick Butcher on Fiestas and Foods of Spain

These light little 'puffs of wind' are made of choux paste, but are fried instead of baked as they would be for profiteroles.
They can be served plain, just dusted with sugar, or stuffed with pastry cream.
Make the cream first if that's how you want them.

1. First, make the pastry cream. Put the milk and lemon rind or vanilla pod in a saucepan and leave over a low heat to infuse.
2. Beat the egg with the sugar and then with the flour. Bring the milk to the boil and strain it into the egg mixture, beating with a spoon.
   
3. Rinse out the saucepan, return the custard to it. Bring it back to the boil, whisking it all the time. Simmer for five minutes, stirring continuously.
   
4. Pour it into a dish, stir in the knob of butter and leave to cool.
   
5. To make the buñuelos, melt the butter in a saucepan and pour in the water and milk. Bring to the boil and pour in the flour in one go. Mix it in quickly and thorough.ly.
   
6. Cook over a low heat, stirring continuously, for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs one by one, mixing very thoroughly between additions.
   
7. Heat a good quantity of oil until it is quite hot but not as hot as the temperature you would use to fry potatoes. Now drop in it small rounded teaspoonfuls of the mixture. If you have the heat too high they will brown too quickly without cooking in the centre.
   
8. When they are puffed and light and well browned, remove them and drain on kitchen paper.
   
9. Either serve them still warm and dusted with sugar, maybe with a little cinnamon added, or leave them to cool. Then split them and sandwich them with the pastry cream.