More scrumptious Greek food from my novel “Mabel of the Anzacs” This time the irresistible Loukoumades.
Loukoumades are sweet honey puffs which are deep fried to golden and crispy perfection. Greek donuts (loukoumades) are traditionally served soaked in hot honey syrup, sprinkled with cinnamon and garnished with chopped walnuts.
How do you make these yummy little puffs? Our friends over at MyGreekDish have the perfect recipe!
The perfect traditional loukoumades (Greek donuts) are crispy and golden on the outside and fluffy and airy in the inside. To achieve the perfect texture for your loukoumades give the dough time to rise and it will reward you with its distinctive air-y fluffiness. When preparing this loukoumades recipe, the key is to use the right temperature. Always dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water and let the dough to rise in warm environment. If the room temperature is low, a little trick is to preheat the oven to 40-50 C, turn it off and place the dough in the warm oven. Deep fry the loukoumades in hot oil. Make sure to fry them in batches, so that the surface off the pan is comfortably filled, otherwise the loukoumades will probably stick together and the temperature of the oil will decrease. You don’t want your loukoumades to become mushy and less crunchy on the outside.
For the loukoumades
- 1 cup of lukewarm water (240g /8.5 oz.)
- 1 cup of lukewarm milk (240g/ 8.5 oz.)
- 15 g active dry yeast (0.5 oz.)
- 3 and 1/4 of a cup flour (450g /16 oz.)
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 1 flat tsp salt
- 4 tbsps olive oil
- oil for frying
For the garnish
- 3/4 cup honey (350g/ 13 oz.)
- cinnamon powder
- chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS
- To prepare this delicious Greek honey puffs recipe, start by dissolving the yeast in the water. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 5 minutes, until it starts bubbling.
- In a separate bowl add the flour, corn starch and salt and blend to combine. Add the flour mixture in the yeast mixture and pour in the honey. Whisk all the ingredients together, until the batter is smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.
- Into a medium sized frying pan pour enough vegetable oil to deep fry the loukoumades. Heat the oil to high heat (175-180C) until it begins to bubble. Test if the oil is hot enough by dipping in some of the dough. If it sizzles the oil is ready.
- Take a handful of the dough in your palm and squeeze it out, between your thumb and index finger, onto a wet teaspoon. Then drop it in the oil and fry until golden. Repeat this procedure until the surface off the pan is comfortably filled. It is important to dip the spoon in a glass of water every time, so that the batter doesn’t stick on it.
- While being fried, use a slotted spoon to push the honey puffs into the oil and turn them around, until golden brown on all sides. Place the loukoumades on some kitchen paper to drain and repeat with the rest of the dough.
- When done, place these delicious golden Greek honey puffs on a large platter, drizzle with (heated) honey and sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Enjoy!
Find out more about my novel “Mabel of the Anzacs” by going to the Subsite for the book