Picarones

Name: Picarones
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 6 plates
Cuisine: Peruvian
Ingredients: 300 g Butternut squash, peeled, in chunks; 300 g Sweet potato, peeled, in chunks; 2 piece Star anise, or 1 tsp aniseed, for the cooking water; 1 piece Cinnamon stick, for the cooking water; 1 l Water, for cooking the vegetables; 150 ml is kept for the dough; 450 g Wheat flour; 7 g Yeast, instant dried, one sachet; 2 tbsp Sugar; 1 pinch Salt; 250 g Panela, chancaca, chopped; or piloncillo or dark muscovado; 300 ml Water; 1 piece Cinnamon stick; 4 piece Cloves; 1 piece Orange, peel only, in wide strips; 1.5 l Neutral oil, for deep-frying

Ring doughnuts of yeasted squash and sweet potato dough, fried crisp and soaked in spiced chancaca syrup. Lima's street dessert.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 50 min
Rest: 2 hr
Total: 3 hr 30 min
Difficulty: A bit of work
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Image coming soon

About

Picarones are rings of yeasted dough made with cooked squash and sweet potato, fried until crisp and golden and served hot with a dark syrup of chancaca, unrefined cane sugar, simmered with cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. The vegetables are boiled in water flavoured with anise and cinnamon, mashed and sieved, then beaten with flour, yeast and some of the cooking water into a very soft, sticky dough. Shaping takes practice. Wet your fingers, pull off a piece, push a hole through it and drop it into the oil in one movement. The first dozen will be ugly. They still taste right.

What you'll need

15 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 15 ready

6 servings

Dough
Syrup
Frying

Ingredients

Servings

Dough

Butternut squash, peeled, in chunks300 g
Sweet potato, peeled, in chunks300 g
Star anise, or 1 tsp aniseed, for the cooking water2
Cinnamon stick, for the cooking water1
Water, for cooking the vegetables; 150 ml is kept for the dough1 l
Wheat flour450 g
Yeast, instant dried, one sachet7 g
Sugar30 ml
Salt1 pinch

Syrup

Panela, chancaca, chopped; or piloncillo or dark muscovado250 g
Water300 ml
Cinnamon stick1
Cloves4
Orange, peel only, in wide strips1

Frying

Neutral oil, for deep-frying1½ l

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Put the squash, sweet potato, star anise and cinnamon in a saucepan with 1 litre of water and simmer 20 minutes until very soft. Drain, keeping the water, and discard the spices. Let the cooking water cool to lukewarm.
25 min
Step 2
Mash the vegetables and push them through a sieve. In a large bowl mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, add the purée and 150 ml of the lukewarm cooking water, and beat with a wooden spoon or your hand for about 10 minutes, until very elastic and stretching in sheets. It should be too sticky to knead.
15 min
Tip: The dough should be closer to a thick batter than a bread dough. Add a spoonful more water if it feels stiff.
Step 3
Cover and leave in a warm place for 1½ to 2 hours, until doubled and full of bubbles.
105 min
Step 4
Meanwhile make the syrup. Simmer the panela, water, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel for 15 to 20 minutes, until it thickens to the consistency of runny honey; it thickens more as it cools. Strain and keep warm.
20 min
Watch: Boiling sugar burns badly. Keep children and elbows away.
Step 5
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 180°C and set a bowl of lightly salted water beside it. Wet your hand, pull off an egg-sized piece of dough, push your thumb through it to make a ring, stretch it a little and lower it into the oil. Fry three or four at a time, 1 to 2 minutes a side, turning with a skewer, until deep golden.
25 min180°C
Watch: Use a deep pot no more than a third full of oil, and shake the water off your hand before it goes near the oil.
Step 6
Lift out with a spider, drain briefly, and serve three or four per plate, hot, with the warm syrup poured over.
5 min

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 1007 kcal
Protein: 10.6 g
Carbs: 114 g
Fat: 57 g
Saturated fat: 27.2 g
Fibre: 4.1 g
Sugar: 43.1 g
Sodium: 547 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Wheat

Vegan
Vegetarian
Dairy-free
Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.

Substitutions

Chancaca → 200 g dark muscovado and 1 tbsp molasses
Close in colour and depth, a little sweeter.
Butternut squash → Pumpkin or kabocha
Any dense, dry orange squash works. Watery ones make a slack dough.

Tips

Dipping your hand in salted water before each one is what makes the dough possible to shape at all.
Leftover dough keeps in the fridge overnight. Give it an hour at room temperature before frying.

History & culture

Picarones are sold hot from street carts and stalls in Lima and other coastal cities, especially in the evening and at weekends, and in October during the Señor de los Milagros processions, when the stalls follow the crowds. The cook shapes them by hand in front of you and turns them in the oil with a long stick.

Picarones are a colonial adaptation of Spanish buñuelos. The story goes that Afro-Peruvian cooks in Lima, working with what was cheap, replaced part of the wheat with squash and sweet potato and swapped honey for chancaca syrup. By the 19th century they were a fixture of Lima's street vendors, many of them Afro-Peruvian women.

Traditional — In Lima the squash is zapallo macre, a big dense orange variety; butternut or kabocha are the closest outside Peru. Fig leaves often go into the syrup in Peru for a grassy note. Some vendors ferment the dough with a starter kept from the previous batch rather than dried yeast.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Picarones take?

3 hr 30 min all in — 40 min prep, 50 min cook, 2 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 6 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

A bit of work.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-free, Nut-free.

9 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Saucepan, Mixing bowl, Dutch oven, Spider or strainer.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1 pinch.

How much sugar?

2 tbsp of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Chancaca → 200 g dark muscovado and 1 tbsp molasses. Close in colour and depth, a little sweeter. Butternut squash → Pumpkin or kabocha. Any dense, dry orange squash works. Watery ones make a slack dough.

What should I watch for?

Boiling sugar burns badly. Keep children and elbows away. Use a deep pot no more than a third full of oil, and shake the water off your hand before it goes near the oil.

Any tips from this recipe?

Dipping your hand in salted water before each one is what makes the dough possible to shape at all. Leftover dough keeps in the fridge overnight. Give it an hour at room temperature before frying.

Can I prepare this ahead?

Leftover dough keeps in the fridge overnight. Give it an hour at room temperature before frying.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.