What a treat! Pumpkin Dreams are one of the most delicious and traditional Portuguese Christmas sweets, known for their fluffy texture and aroma of cinnamon and orange.
Here is a classic recipe for making Pumpkin Dreams that are light and airy:
🎃 Classic and Fluffy Pumpkin Dreams
This recipe yields approximately $20 to $25 per recipe, depending on size.
I. Ingredients
Ingredient Quantity Notes
Pumpkin (cleaned) $400 g Butternut squash or pumpkin.
Wheat Flour (with baking powder) $450 g If using all-purpose flour, add $1 teaspoon of baking powder or baker’s yeast.
Eggs $3 units Type L, room temperature.
Sugar $50 g For the dough.
Orange Zest $1 unit Just the orange peel.
Brandy or Port Wine $0.5 dl ($50 ml) Optional, to add lightness and prevent fat absorption.
Oil Q.B. (to taste) For frying.
Sugar and Cinnamon Q.B. (to taste) For sprinkling at the end.
II. Preparation
- Cook the Pumpkin
Baking: Peel and cut the pumpkin into cubes. Cook it in water with a pinch of salt (or steam) until very soft.
Draining (Crucial!): Drain the pumpkin very well. Excess water means you will need to use more flour, making the fritters heavy. - Reducing: Puree the pumpkin, but not too much (avoid using a hand blender so it doesn’t become too liquid). Let it cool slightly.
- Preparing the Dough
Add: In a large bowl, add the pumpkin puree, sugar ($50 g), orange zest, and brandy (or Port wine). Mix well.
Flour: Sift the flour and add it to the pumpkin mixture. Start beating vigorously with a wooden spoon or use your hands.
Beating: The dough should be beaten until it comes away from the sides of the bowl and becomes pliable.
Eggs: Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the dough well after each addition, until each egg is completely absorbed. The dough should be smooth and elastic. - Frying
Heating: Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or saucepan. The oil should be hot, but not boiling ($170-180°C), so that the fritters cook through before burning on the outside.
Frying: Using a tablespoon (which should be dipped in hot oil before each portion of dough to prevent sticking), drop small portions of dough into the oil.
Turning: The fritters should puff up and often turn themselves over while frying. Let them brown evenly.
Draining: Remove the fritters as soon as they are golden brown and drain them on absorbent paper to remove excess oil. - Finishing
In a dish, mix the sugar with the cinnamon powder.
Dip the still-warm fritters in this mixture and serve.
Tip: The quality of the fritters depends a lot on the temperature of the oil and the pumpkin being very well drained.
I would like to know how you can make a flavored sugar syrup to drizzle over the fritters instead of sprinkling them?