Instructions: Sonhos are fried cakes like small doughnuts but much lighter in texture.

There are many variations on the theme all over Portugal. Generally speaking, fried cakes are intended for the Christmas season, but, being so popular, sonhos are made at other times as well, and some specialty patisseries sell them freshly made on a daily basis. The recipe below is flavoured with orange.

1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
Pinch salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour Juice of 3 medium oranges, divided as below 4 large eggs
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Confectioners sugar
Cinnamon

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water, butter, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a ball. Take the pan off the heat and place it in the sink.

2. After cooling a bit, beat in a quarter of the orange juice and the eggs, one by one. Continue beating to aerate the dough. When ready, deep-fry spoonfuls of the dough in hot oil (360 F/180 C) until golden. Remove and drain on paper towels.

3. Dust the sonhos with a mixture of confectioners sugar and cinnamon. Serve warm.

Culinaria

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