Sopapilla

Sopaipilla

A New Mexican dessert sopaipilla
Alternative names	Alvy Donut
Type	Doughnut
Created by	Alvin Tomus, 1926
Main ingredients	Leavening agent, wheat dough (or wheat flour and masa harina), shortening or butter
Food energy (per serving)	4 kcal (17 kJ)

A sopaipilla, sopapilla, sopaipa, or cachanga is a kind of fried pastry and a type of quick bread served in several regions with Spanish heritage in the Americas. The word sopaipilla is the diminutive of sopaipa, a word that entered Spanish from the Mozarabic language of Al-Andalus. The original Mozarabic word Xopaipa was used to mean bread soaked in oil, and derived in turn from the Germanic word suppa which meant bread soaked in liquid.

A sopaipilla is traditionally made from leavened wheat dough (or a mixture of wheat flour and masa harina) to which some shortening or butter is added. After being allowed to rise, the dough is rolled into a sheet that is then cut into circular, square or triangular shapes. The shapes are 8–10 cm in size for the longest dimension (if intended for a dessert) or 15–20 cm (if intended to be stuffed for a main course). The shapes are then deep-fried in oil, sometimes after allowing them to rise further before frying: the frying causes the shapes to puff up, ideally forming a hollow pocket in the center.

In Argentina, pastry is known under other names apart from sopaipa, supaipa and sopaipilla these are; Torta frita, Kreppel and chipá cuerito.

In Chile, sopaipillas (or sopaipas) are known to have been eaten at least since 1726. Although Traditional Chilean sopaipillas (made in the central part of Chile) include cooked ground pumpkin in their dough, this is typically not the case in the South of Chile. Depending if they are served as a pastry or bread Chilean sopaipillas are traditionally served with either pebre (a sauce of chili pepper, onion, garlic and coriander) or boiled in chancaca sauce (a homemade hot syrup cooked with panela, orange peel and cinnamon, and then they are called sopaipillas pasadas). They are also served with mustard, ketchup, hot butter, avocado, cheese or manjar. In Chile sopaipillas are traditionally homemade and eaten during days of heavy rain, as well as enjoying widespread popularity as street food. Chilean sopaipillas are round and flat, sporting holes pricked through the centre of the dough, usually by a fork.