serves
8
prep
20 minutes
cook
25 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
8
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
25
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
I love making these doughnuts when I have a lot of people to feed. These make millions, depending on how much batter you make, and are always a crowd pleaser.
This recipe is from my grandma and is very close to me. Like any Greek cooking, there’s no precise measurement, so play around. At Christmas, you could try adding cimmamon to the sauce for a festive touch.
Ingredients
Loukoumades mix
- Juice of one orange
- Juice of one lemon
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 2 cups warm water
- 600 g self-raising flour
- 2 litre vegetable or canola oil, for deep frying
Salted caramel
- 220 g sugar
- 165 ml cream
- 95 g butter
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- Pinch of flaked salt, to taste
Cinnamon sugar
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Garnish
- Fresh honey (the best quality you can find, I like to use the honey my family makes from our bee hives)
Standing time: 1-2 hours.
Instructions
- Start by making the loukomade dough. Combine the lemon juice, orange juice, salt, sugar and water in a bowl
- Add the flour to the wet ingredients and stir with a whisk until a thick but wet dough consistency. Scrape dough off whisk. Let the dough sit in the bowl and rest, covered in cling wrap, for about 1-2 hours.
- While the dough is sitting, make the cinnamon sugar by combining the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
- To make the salted caramel, it is important to measure out all your ingredients first, so you have everything ready. Heat up the cream and the vanilla in a microwave until warm, then set aside.
- Take a medium-sized pan (see Note), preferably NOT a non-stick pan. Pour 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the pan. Place the pan onto a low heat on the stove and begin to melt the sugar. Once all the sugar has slowly melted, add another tablespoon. Continue to do this until all the sugar has melted.
- Allow the sugar to brown slightly. Once you can clearly see the bottom of the pan, add in the cream and stir quickly (the mixture will froth up).
- Now that the sugar and cream have combined, take the mixture off the stove and carefully stir in the butter, in several batches, followed by the salt, and set aside. Add salt to your preference; I love my salted caramel very salty.
- Next, start warming your oil. Place the oil into a large enough pot and heat up for frying. To get the right temperature, I like to place a little spoonful of the mixture into the oil. If it sizzles nicely it’s ready. If the mixture gets too brown before the inside is cooked, turn the heat down.
- Have some tongs ready beside the stove, as well as the dough mixture with some spoons, and your cinnamon sugar.
- Place heaped tablespoons of the dough into the oil and fry until golden brown and cooked in the center. These won't be perfectly round - the shapes are meant to be rustic. Cook in batches, 4-5 at a time.
- As soon as the dough is cooked remove the doughnuts from the oil and toss straight into the cinnamon sugar
- Repeat this process until all the doughnuts are cooked.
- To serve, drizzle generously with the salted caramel and honey. Enjoy! These are addictive, so be careful.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
I love making these doughnuts when I have a lot of people to feed. These make millions, depending on how much batter you make, and are always a crowd pleaser.
This recipe is from my grandma and is very close to me. Like any Greek cooking, there’s no precise measurement, so play around. At Christmas, you could try adding cimmamon to the sauce for a festive touch.
