Greece
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Loukoumades
Loukoumades, are a sweet dough that gets fried, and covered in a simple honey syrup, served with sesame seeds or walnuts. The donuts are golden and crispy on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside.
History
Loukoumades were first recorded in Greece, as one of their oldest recorded desserts, which were traced back to the first Olympic games in 766 B.C. This dessert was served to the Olympic winners as honey tokens.
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reflection
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We loved this dessert. It was definitely a different dessert for me. This was the first time I have ever used yeast, and it worked considerably well. I think if I were to make this dessert again i needed to add a bit more flour to the yeast mixture, as it became slightly hard to form perfect sphere shapes in the oil and it was quite runny. However the sweetness of the honey, and the crunchiness and fluffiness of the dough ball made it a great combination. This dessert wasn't necessarily too hard to make, however it took a little bit of time as I had to wait 90 minutes for the yeast mixture to rise.
This is why my family rated the loukoumades 8/10.
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Loukoumades recipe
Serves: 20 hands on time: 30 mins total time: 90 mins
Ingredients
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1/2 cup of lukewarm water
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1/2 cup of lukewarm milk
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7 g active dry yeast
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1 3/4 of a cup flour
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2 tbsps sugar
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1/2 flat tsp salt
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2 tbsps olive oil
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vegetable oil for frying
garnish -
1/2 cup honey
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cinnamon powder
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chopped walnuts
method
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In a bowl add the water, sugar and yeast. Stir with a whisk until the yeast dissolves completely and wait for 5 minutes. In a mixers bowl add the yeast mixture add the rest of the ingredients for the dough and whisk for 2 minutes until the mixture becomes a smooth batter.
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Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a warm place for at least 1 1/2 hours to rise.
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Into a medium sized frying pan pour enough vegetable oil to deep fry the loukoumades. Heat the oil on a medium heat until hot. Test if the oil is hot enough by dipping in some of the dough for the loukoumades. If it sizzles the oil is ready.
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Use 2 spoons to form the mixture into small balls and srop into the oil. Repeat this procedure until the surface off the pan is comfortably filled.
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While the loukoumades are fried, use a slotted spoon to push them into the oil and turn them on all sides, until golden brown. Place the loukoumades on some kitchen paper to drain. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
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When done, place the loukoumades on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil. Then serve on a large platter, drizzle with the honey and sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped walnuts.