Colombian Buñuelos with German Ingredients

Yay, today I get to introduce Colombian buñuelos with German ingredients. I already have a buñuelos recipe on the blog. However, for the previous recipe we had to make the cheese ourselves. But now I managed to make a recipe with cheeses that are readily available in Germany. So let me introduce to you these cheese fritters. They are traditionally served in December, for sure for Christmas, but also for New Year’s. If you would like to learn more about Colombian Christmas traditions and recipes, check out that blog post. Just as I managed to make Colombian pandebonos with this farmer’s cheese, I replaced the Colombian queso costeño with it. I also like to use a mix and throw in feta cheese. As cheeses have a different amount of liquid, I had to tweak the recipe a bit, but then it was perfect!

Since Disney aired the movie Encanto, Colombian arepas as well as buñuelos have been all the craze. One bonus point, Colombian cuisine is often naturally gluten-free as wheat is replaced with cornstarch and tapioca starch, these two are also the basis for these gluten-free cheese fritters. And is often also the case, these need to be fried, Colombian empanadas are also deep-fried. But beware, you will need a rather low temperature of the oil, otherwise buñuelos may explode, so please err on the cautious side, rather having too low of an oil temperature than too high. But now let’s finally get it it, let’s make Colombian buñuelos!

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Colombian Buñuelos with German Ingredients

Prep Time: 15min – Cooking Time: 15-20min – Total Time: 35min

Colombian buñuelos are cheese fritters. This version is made with German ingredients as I live in Germany.

Ingredients

• 75 grams of feta cheese
• 225g of farmer's cheese
• 180 grams of cornstarch
• 90 grams of tapioca/cassava/maniok starch/flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of butter cut it small pieces
• 2 eggs
• At least 1 liter of canola oil for frying, I used almost 2 liters

Instructions

1

Crumb the feta into a large bowl, then add all other ingredients except for the oil. Using a handheld mixer or your hands, mix until you have a smooth texture, this will take a few minutes. The dough will be slightly sticky.

2

Heat the oil either in a deep frying pan or in a pot, the buñuelos need to be covered by oil. The temperature is towards the lower end, best is to use a thermometer. Heat oil to 140 degrees Celsius. Roll the buñuelos into balls of about 50 grams each. Try to roll as round as possible. Don't crowd your frying pan, you want to have enough space between each. I did mine in two batches of 8 in a large pot. Now place the buñuelos into the oil, they will first sink and then start floating after about 1-2 minutes. Once they float, they will turn itself if round, if not, help to brown evenly from all sides using a spoon. Fry for about 15-20 minutes or until golden. Due to the lower frying temperature they do take longer. Serve immediately or within a few hours. Traditionally buñuelos are served as a snack and with Coke.