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Picarones (Peruvian Sweet Potato Doughnut Rings)

Peruvian street doughnuts made from a yeast-risen sweet potato and squash puree, hand-shaped into irregular rings, deep fried and served under a dark spiced chancaca syrup.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Latin American
Keyword picarones
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 18 rings

Ingredients

For the Dough

  • ½ pound sweet potato peeled and cubed
  • ½ pound calabaza or butternut squash peeled, seeded and cubed
  • 1 teaspoon anise seeds for the boiling water
  • 1 ½ cups reserved cooking water warm
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour added gradually, dough stays sticky
  • 1 teaspoon ground anise seed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 cups neutral oil for deep frying

For the Chancaca Syrup

  • 1 pound chancaca or piloncillo or panela, chopped
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 orange peel only, in wide strips
  • 1 lemon peel only, in wide strips
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 1 teaspoon anise seeds

Instructions

Make the Dough

  • Boil the cubed sweet potato and squash with 1 teaspoon of anise seeds until completely soft, about 20 minutes. Reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking water.
  • Mash the sweet potato and squash together until silky with no lumps, then let the puree cool to about 110 degrees F.
  • Stir the yeast and sugar into ½ cup of the warm reserved cooking water and leave 10 minutes, until foamy.
  • Combine the warm puree, yeast mixture, ground anise and salt, then add the flour a cup at a time until you have a thick, wet, elastic dough that sticks to everything. Do not add extra flour to make it smooth.
  • Cover and leave in a warm place for 90 minutes, until doubled, bubbly and slack.

Make the Chancaca Syrup

  • Combine the chopped chancaca, water, orange and lemon peel, cinnamon sticks, cloves and anise seeds in a saucepan.
  • Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, until reduced by half and coating the back of a spoon. Pull it off the heat while it still looks slightly thin, since it thickens as it cools.
  • Strain out the peels and whole spices and keep the syrup warm.

Shape and Fry

  • Heat 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees F and set a bowl of water beside the pot.
  • Wet your hand, scoop a small handful of dough, poke a finger through the centre, and lower it into the oil while stretching the hole wide. The rings are meant to be irregular.
  • Fry three or four at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and crisp.
  • Drain on a wire rack and pour the warm chancaca syrup over them just before serving.

Notes

  • Sticky is correct: The dough should stay wet and slack. Adding flour to make it kneadable produces dense, rubbery rings.
  • Squash is authentic: Zapallo macre in Peru, calabaza or butternut in the US. Sweet potato alone makes a variant, not the traditional dish.
  • Chancaca substitutes: Piloncillo or panela are the same product. Dark muscovado is next best, then dark brown sugar with 2 tablespoons molasses.
  • Syrup thickness: Stop cooking while it still looks thin. It sets firm as it cools. Loosen with 2 tablespoons of water if needed.
  • Oil temperature: Hold 350 degrees F and fry only three or four rings at a time.
  • Stretch the hole: A small hole seals shut in the oil and you get a fritter instead of a ring.
  • Storage: Rings are best within 30 minutes. Syrup keeps a month in the fridge. Reheat undressed rings at 375 degrees F for 5 minutes and add syrup after.