PHOODIE’S Loukoumades 9

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Greek Doughnuts with Honey Syrup, Cinnamon and Walnuts.

Yes.

Please.

And.

Thank you.

This is one of my all time favourite recipes and I CANNOT believe that I haven’t published it earlier.

My sister asked me the other day why I hadn’t done a Loukoumades (Pronounced Loo – Koo – Ma -Thes) post yet and I didn’t have the answer!

PLEASE TRY THESE!

PLEASE!

I beg you!

They will change your life. I PROMISE.

Note: DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED WHEN A RECIPE CONTAINS YEAST!!! Don’t let that put you off! There is absolutely NOTHING difficult about this recipe. With regards to the yeast, all you need to do to it is open it up and pour it into a bowl. Swear. That’s it. (Actually, there is ONE little part of this recipe that is a little challenging and that’s the part where you need to fry the dough and create “perfecty round doughnuts”… getting the shape you desire takes practice! That said, mine are NEVER all perfect and they always taste amazing!  

INGREDIENTS

For the doughnuts

3 cups plain flour – sifted

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 sachet active dry yeast (7g) – I use Tandaco sachets

2 or 2 and 1/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon honey (I used Woolworths Gold Jarrah Honey)

1 teaspoon salt

For the Syrup

2 cups honey – (Woolworths Gold Jarrah Honey)

1 and 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 Cup water

Zest from 1/4 lemon

1 cinnamon stick

1 clove

Garnish

1 cup walnuts, chopped roughly

Ground Cinnamon

METHOD

1) Mix the yeast and half a cup of the warm water in a large mixing bowl. Chuck a tea towel over the bowel and leave it on the bench for about 20 minutes to do its’ thing.

2) After 20 minutes, add the sifted flour, sugar, honey and salt to the yeast mixture and stir it all in. Add the remaining warm water (1 and  1/2 cups or 1 and a 3/4 cups) whilst whisking the mixture the whole time. You want the batter to be LUMP FREE and have a sticky but semi-fluid consistency.  Chuck the tea towel back over the bowl and allow the mixture to rest for about an hour and 15 mins.

3) While the mixture is resting and growing, chop the walnuts and make the syrup. To make the syrup, chuck all of the ingredients into a small pot and bring to the boil over low/medium heat whilst stirring. Allow to boil for a few minutes and then turn off the heat and set aside.

4) Heat up the oil in your deep fryer (or if, like me you don’t have one, use a large pasta pot and fill it up about half way with canola or vegetable oil). To test if it is ready, drop in about a marble size of the mixture and if it floats to the top surrounded by little bubbles then you are good to go!

5) Using two spoons, take about a tablespoon of batter (per doughnut) and transfer it from one spoon to the other about 3 or 4 times to get a smooth edge (as though you are trying to make a quenelle!!! watch this video to get the principle of what I am talking about!) then simply (!!) drop this “ball of mixture” into the hot oil to fry. Repeat until all mixture has been used up. (Note: In my large pasta pot I could fit about 9 doughnuts at a time, In total, this recipe makes about 27 doughnuts.)

6) With a slotted spoon, make sure to flip the doughnuts over so as to cook them on both sides. Once they are a darkish (BUT RED ALERT: NOT BURNT) golden colour, remove them and drain on paper towel.

7) When all doughnuts are ready, transfer them to a serving platter, cover in syrup (place any extra syrup in a jug on the table for people to add more!), sprinkle with chopped nuts and dust LIGHTLY in ground cinnamon.

DROOL, ENJOY AND THANK ME LATER!