Tullumba

Tullumba are similar to Spanish churros, except they are shorter and soaked in syrup. They are made with a choux pastry, which is prepared on the stovetop by stirring the ingredients over heat until the dough takes form.

Ingredients:
For the syrup

• 3 cups water
• 3 cups sugar
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 T vanilla extract

For the dough:

• 2 cups water
• ½ cup butter
• ¼ t salt
• 2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 1 T cornstarch
• 4 large eggs
• Sunflower oil for frying (about 2 cups)

Directions:

1. Begin by making the syrup so that it has ample time to cool while you are making the dough. Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. After it has boiled for a few minutes, stir in the lemon juice and vanilla extract (for a more pronounced lemon flavor, let the lemon peels steep in the syrup while it cools, and pluck out the peels before you start dipping the tullumba).
2. In a large, deep saucepan, combine the water, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil.
3. Once it is boiling, remove from the heat and stir in the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and corn starch.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring each egg in completely before adding the next. You may need to recruit some help for this step; one person can be constantly stirring while the other cracks the eggs. Mix vigorously to work air into the dough. The finished dough will be soft and smooth.
5. Heat the frying oil in a large pot.
6. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a wide star tip. Tullumba are wider than churros, so use the biggest star tip that you have. Pipe 2-inch long sections of dough directly into the frying oil, using scissors to snip off each of the tullumba.
7. They do not take long to cook, so you will need to work quickly. As soon as the tullumba turn golden brown, remove them from the oil and transfer them immediately into the cool syrup. The longer you let them soak, the more syrup they will absorb. Serve cold.