3 Spanish desserts (with recipes) to whip up this spring
2021-10-16
Spain isn’t just known for its tapas and main meals like paella.
When it comes to Spanish cuisine, not enough people know just how delicious our desserts are too!
We have chosen three of Spain’s most famous desserts and listed them below, along with an easy to follow recipe to make it yourself.
Explore Spanish desserts this spring - they really are so tasty and will fast become family favourites.
1.Churros
A fried dough dessert that originated in Spain and Portugal, churros are arguably the most famous Spanish dessert across the globe, with many restaurants set up purely to sell churros. Churros taste like the best crusty cinnamon donut you’ve ever had, and dipped in chocolate sauce - bliss!
Churros Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 cup plain flour
- ½ cup caster sugar, extra
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- La Española Pure Olive Oil, for deep-frying
Chocolate sauce:
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup pouring cream
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Method:
- Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil over high heat. Remove from heat. Add flour and stir to combine. Place over high heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 mins or until dough is smooth and coming away from the side of the pan. Set aside for 10 mins to cool.
- For the chocolate sauce, combine chocolate, cream and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
- Combine the extra sugar and cinnamon on a large baking tray.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one, until mixture is smooth. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 2cm fluted nozzle.
- Add enough olive oil to a large saucepan to reach 6cm up the side of the pan. Heat to 180C over medium-high heat (when oil is ready, a cube of bread turns golden brown in 15 secs). Pipe three 12cm lengths of dough into the oil, cutting the dough with kitchen scissors. Cook for 3 mins or until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Add to the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Serve churros warm with the chocolate sauce for dipping.
2. Leche Frita
Leche Frita is a fried milk Spanish dessert that holds a special place in our hearts. Sweet and creamy, this delicious dessert is easy to make and a family favourite.
Leche Frita Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups of full cream milk
- 3 ½ tbs of cornstarch
- 50g of flour
- ½ cup of white sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Lemon peel
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup La Española Mild & Light Olive Oil
- 2 eggs
- Sugar and powdered cinnamon, to garnish
Method:
- Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, and half of the flour. Add 1 cup of milk and combine. Set aside.
- Heat the remaining milk over medium-low heat in a large saucepan until it starts to bubble. Remove from heat and add the cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and vanilla. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Gradually strain the milk from the saucepan into the mixture from the first step, and stir until combined. Return to saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (for at least 15 minutes).
- Oil a large baking dish and pour the mixture into it. It should be about 3/4 inch (2 cm) deep. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper so that it's resting on the surface of the mixture, and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours (overnight if possible) until it has solidified.
- Turn the cooled mixture out of the pan and cut into small squares. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, at a depth of about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm). Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Put the remaining flour in another bowl.
- Dip each piece in the beaten eggs and then the flour, to form a light coating. Fry in the oil for about one minute on each side, until the coating turns golden.
- Let cool on a paper towel, then roll in sugar and cinnamon. Serve fresh or at room temperature, ideally with ice cream.
3. Pestiños
Pestiños are a Spanish pastry that is traditionally served during ‘Semana Santa ‘(Easter). A simple dough recipe that is deep fried in olive oil and glazed in honey and sugar, this is a simple to make Spanish dessert you’ll make again and again.
Pestiños Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g wheat flour
- 250 ml La Española Mild & Light Olive Oil (for dough)
- La Española Pure Olive Oil, for frying
- 250ml white wine
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon or orange peel
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Aniseed (optional)
- Sugar or honey, to cover
Method:
- Heat in a frying pan over medium heat the oil with the lemon or orange peel together with the anise seeds (if you are using them) and the cinnamon until the oil takes on the flavour.
- In a bowl, mix the flour with the white wine, the oil that we have previously heated (strained) and the salt. Mix with a spoon and then knead with your hands until the dough does not stick. Add more flour if it is too watery or water if we have made it too thick.
- Let dough sit for 30 minutes, covered with a cloth. Roll the dough, stretching it to leave it as thin as possible and give shape to the pestiños. Fold them into small loops or leave them square.
- Heat oil in the frying pan over medium heat and fry the pestiños, moving them around so that they are cooked evenly, or until they are golden brown.
- Once well fried, drain the pestiños on paper towel. Coat them in a mixture of honey with a few tablespoons of water or if you prefer, sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon.
4. Bonus recipe: Olive Oil and Orange Ice Cream
Olive oil ice cream may sound unusual, but the fruity flavour of La Española Extra Virgin Olive Oil Mild Flavour lends itself well to delicious desserts! It’s also the secret to the silky smooth texture of this zesty orange ice cream!
And that’s a wrap! Have you tried any of the above recipes? Did we left out your favourite Spanish dessert? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook or Instagram!
La Española Olive Oil is stocked across Australia exclusively by Coles. Browse our range online or in-store today.
