Picarones con Miel de Chancaca

Picarones are Peru's beloved street-side dessert fritters, descended from the Spanish buñuelo but transformed by indigenous Andean ingredients — sweet potato and squash give the dough its distinctive orange hue and gentle sweetness. Sold from clay pots in Lima's colonial plazas since the 17th century, they are served drenched in chancaca syrup spiced with clove and cinnamon.

Serves: 4–6

Ingredients

Fritters

• 300g (10 oz) orange sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 300g (10 oz) butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
• 7g (2¼ tsp) active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp (30ml) warm water
• 200g (1⅔ cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp anise seeds
• ½ tsp salt
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Chancaca Syrup

• 200g (7 oz) chancaca (raw cane sugar block) or dark muscovado sugar
• 250ml (1 cup) water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 1 small piece orange peel
• 1 star anise

Instructions

1. Steam sweet potato and squash for 20 minutes until completely soft. Mash very smoothly and allow to cool to lukewarm.
2. Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand 5 minutes until foamy.
3. Combine mashed vegetables with yeast mixture, flour, anise seeds, and salt. Mix into a soft, sticky dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
4. Make the syrup: combine chancaca, water, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel, and star anise in a small pan. Simmer 15 minutes until syrupy. Strain and keep warm.
5. Heat vegetable oil to 175°C (350°F) in a deep pan. Wet your hands, pinch off a ball of dough, poke a hole through the centre with your finger, and drop into the oil. Fry 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden.
6. Drain briefly and serve immediately, drizzled generously with warm chancaca syrup.

Cook's Notes: Wet hands prevent the sticky dough from clinging. The fritters are best eaten immediately — they deflate as they cool. Chancaca blocks are available in Latin American grocers; dark muscovado makes a reasonable substitute.