Each country has its own amazing dessert recipes. Yet there are countries that are a forerunner. In my opinion, this mainly concerns the areas around the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In my opinion they don’t work much with chocolate here like Lava Cake or Chocolate Mousse, but they have delicious sweet dishes. Today is the time to describe a new dessert with an easy recipe! I’m talking about Loukoumades, a Greek dessert. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to make Loukoumades.
What is the definition of Loukoumades
The meaning of Loukoumades is:
”Its a pastry of leavened dough that is deep-fried. After frying it’s soaked with honey and cinnamon. To finish the dessert you can sprinkle sesame on top and serve it with vanilla ice cream”.
HistoryÂ
The Greece are not the inventors of the dish. The Turkish name for the dessert is Lokma. The dessert is a pastry that consists of leavened dough. This leavened dough is then fried. After frying, the dish is covered with a layer of syrup or honey. This depends on the region. In addition, other ingredients can used like cinnamon.
The recipe originates from the early Middle Ages. Around the 13th century the dish was visible in several books. The dish is mostly eaten during that time by people with money. It was a familiar dish made by the palace cook during the Ottoman Empire.
The ingredients I described earlier come from Greece. The Arab countries on the Persian Gulf still use the recipe of the 13th century. The dish can be eaten daily or during religious celebrations. This depends on the region. These celebrations can be: Ramadan, Hanukkah and Epiphany.
The Turkish dish isn’t using syrup or honey, unless it’s for dessert. When its a dessert they add the sweets. Just like Loukoumades the ingredients consist of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In Iraq and Greece it familiar as a dessert. In Turkey the dish is only for special occasions.
Ingredients for Loukoumades
To make this fantastic dessert you need the following ingredients: water, milk, active dry yeast, flour, sugar, salt, olive oil. You also need oil for frying. You can find the recipe below or watch our video! To give this dessert some decoration you need Cinnamon Powder and Walnuts. That really depends on your own taste! I like the cinnamon powder and chopped walnuts!
Loukoumades
Equipment
- Bowl
- Saucepan
- Frying pan
- Ice cream scoop
- Skimmer
- Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- 240 grams Water
- 240 grams Milk
- 15 grams Active Dry Yeast
- 430 grams Flour
- 20 grams Sugar
- 8 grams Salt
- 200 gram Honey
- 20 gram Cinnamon
Instructions
- The first step is to make the dough. Take a bowl and add warm water with the yeast. Mix everything together until the yeast dissolves.
- The next step is to take a saucepan and warm the milk. Add the milk to the bowl together with flour, salt and sugar. Take a hand mixture or whisk and start mixing it until you get a nice batter.
- Grab a plastic wrap and put it on the bowl. Let the dough rest on room temperature for 1 hour or more.
- After 1 hour take the plastic wrap of and take a frying pan. Fill the pan with oil and put it on medium heat.
- To make the perfect round balls you can use a ice scream scoop. Take a scoop and add the dough to the oil.
- Make sure that all the sides gets the brown color. You can use a skimmer.
- When the balls are golden brown take them out of the oil on a kitchen paper.
- The last step is to add the honey and cinnamon on top of the Loukoumades. It's time to eat!
Nutrition
FAQ Loukoumades
Below you can find the most frequently asked questions:
What is Loukoumades?
Its a pastry of leavened dough that is deep-fried. After frying it’s soaked with honey and cinnamon.
Which ingredients do I need?
You need the following ingredients: water, milk, active dry yeast, flour, sugar, salt, olive oil. For the decoration you need honey and chopped walnuts.