Loukoumades (Greek Honey Doughnuts)
Greece's favourite street sweet: bite-size yeasted doughnuts, crisp outside and airy inside, soaked in honey syrup with cinnamon and walnuts.
Method
In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then pour in the lukewarm water. It should feel just warm on your wrist (about 37 °C); hotter water kills the yeast. Beat hard with a wooden spoon for until you have a smooth, sticky, stretchy batter with no lumps. It should be thicker than pancake batter.
Add in this stepPlain (all-purpose) flour 120 gInstant dried yeast 1 tspSugar (for the batter) 1 tspSalt 1 pinchLukewarm water (about 37 °C) 130 ml
Cover the bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave it somewhere warm for . It is ready when it has roughly doubled and the surface is full of bubbles.
While the batter rises, make the syrup. Put the honey, sugar and water in a 14 cm small saucepan over medium heat and stir for , until the sugar dissolves and the edges just start to bubble, then turn off the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and let it cool. Don't boil it for long or the syrup turns sticky and hard.
Add in this stepHoney 80 gSugar (for the syrup) 30 gWater (for the syrup) 50 mlLemon juice 1 tsp
medium heatPour the oil into a deep 18 cm pot: at least 5 cm deep but no more than a third full. Heat it over medium-high heat for to 175 °C. No thermometer? Drop in a little batter: it should sizzle at once and float up within 2–3 seconds. Never leave hot oil unattended and keep a lid close by.
Add in this stepSunflower oil, for deep-frying 700 ml
medium-high heatFill a small bowl with water and wet two teaspoons. Scoop a walnut-sized blob of batter with one spoon and push it off with the other, close to the surface of the oil so it slides in gently; never drop it from high up. Fill only half the surface at a time and fry in ×2 batches, per batch, turning with a slotted spoon until deep golden all over. Keep the heat on medium heat so the oil stays at 170–180 °C. Break open the first one to check it is cooked right through, with no raw batter in the middle.
medium heatDrain the loukoumades on kitchen paper for about 30 seconds, then, while still hot, pour plenty of the cooled syrup over them or roll them in it. Hot doughnuts and cool syrup keep them crisp for longer. Pile onto a plate, dust with cinnamon, scatter over the walnuts and eat straight away.
Add in this stepGround cinnamon ½ tspWalnuts, roughly chopped 20 g
Cook's tip
The batter is meant to be sticky; dipping the spoons in water often helps the balls drop cleanly and round. If they brown fast but stay raw inside, the oil is too hot, so turn the heat down a little. No honey? Dust with icing sugar instead.
Cooking it at camp
At a campsite, use a small pot on a burner with a shallow layer of oil and fry only a few at a time. Carry the batter in a lidded tub; the warmth of the car or tent is enough for it to rise. Wind cools the oil, so set up a windshield, and let the used oil cool completely before pouring it into a bottle to take home.