Loukoumades
Greece's festival doughnut: golf-ball puffs of yeasted batter dropped from a wet hand into hot oil, drenched in warm honey syrup, scattered with walnut.
Overview
A wet yeasted batter, flour, warm water, yeast, salt, sugar, rests for 1 hour. A small syrup of honey, water, lemon and cinnamon stick simmers for 5 minutes. Oil heats to 175°C. The cook scoops a tablespoon of batter at a time from a wet hand, dropping into the oil, the puff is roughly walnut-sized. Fries for 2-3 minutes till deep gold, turning once. Drains briefly; tumbles into the warm syrup; lifts onto plates; showers with walnuts and cinnamon. Eats immediately.
Ingredients
Batter
- 500 g plain flour
- 7 g instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 600 ml warm water (this is a wet batter)
Syrup
- 200 g clear honey
- 100 ml water
- 1 strip lemon peel (yellow zest only)
- 1 cinnamon stick (small)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Frying
- 1 litre neutral oil for deep frying (sunflower, rapeseed, or olive)
To finish
- 80 g walnuts (roughly chopped, lightly toasted)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Batter
- In a wide bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
- Pour in the warm water all at once.
- Whisk vigorously for 1 minute - the batter should be smooth and sticky (it's much wetter than a bread dough; pourable from a spoon).
- Cover with cling film; rest in a warm spot 1 hour. The surface should be bubbly and the volume doubled.
Stage 2 - Syrup
- Combine the honey, water, lemon peel and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a simmer; cook 5 minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice; remove from heat.
- Keep warm but not boiling.
Stage 3 - Heat the oil
- Heat the oil in a wide deep pan to 175°C.
- A small drop of batter should sizzle and rise immediately; if it browns in 20 seconds, you're good.
Stage 4 - Fry
- Dip your hand in a bowl of cold water (this is the key to working with sticky batter).
- Grab a small handful of batter; squeeze your fist gently - the batter pops out the top of your fist like toothpaste.
- With a wet teaspoon (or just your wet hand), scoop a walnut-sized piece off the top of your fist and drop into the hot oil.
- Continue until you have 6-8 loukoumades frying.
- Fry 2-3 minutes total, turning with a slotted spoon, until deep gold and puffed.
- The loukoumades will roll themselves over once their underside crisps.
Stage 5 - Syrup soak
- Lift the fried loukoumades with a slotted spoon; drain briefly on a wire rack (10 seconds).
- Tumble into the warm syrup; let soak 30 seconds while you start the next batch.
- Lift out with the slotted spoon onto a serving platter.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Pile the syrup-soaked loukoumades on a warm platter.
- Sprinkle with chopped walnuts, cinnamon and sesame seeds.
- Drizzle a little extra syrup over the top.
- Serve IMMEDIATELY - loukoumades cool fast and the crisp shell goes soft.
Notes
- Wet hand, wet spoon: working with sticky yeasted batter is impossible dry. Keep a bowl of cold water next to you and re-wet constantly.
- Squeeze-from-fist technique: Greek cooks shape loukoumades by squeezing batter through a fist and scraping the protrusion with a teaspoon. Practise the motion before frying; it's the difference between round puffs and irregular blobs.
- Hot syrup, hot loukoumades: the temperature drives absorption. Cold syrup on hot loukoumades sits on the surface; warm syrup soaks in.
- Eat immediately: the crisp-soaked contrast lasts about 10 minutes. After that you have a soggy honey ball - still good but the magic is gone.
Storage
- Best within 30 minutes of frying.
- Day-2 loukoumades soften and lose their crisp; warm gently in a 160°C oven 5 minutes (won't fully revive but acceptable).
- Don't refrigerate - the syrup crystallises and the texture suffers.
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