Loukoumades

Loukoumades are little Greek donuts with honey. The honey and sesame seeds give these donuts a deliciously sweet flavor.

These little donuts are a traditional Greek dish that is especially popular in Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.

They are very similar to our own oil balls, but because you make them without egg, they are also very suitable for people who cannot stand them! I definitely recommend making this recipe for New Year's Eve.

Tip: Instead of honey, it is also insanely delicious to pour hot chocolate ganache or homemade caramel sauce over them.

Ingredients

Flour - plain wheat flour is perfect for making loukoumades. I personally would not make them with whole wheat flour.

If you can't stand gluten, you can replace the flour with oat flour. You can buy this ready-made in the supermarket, but making your own oat flour from oat flour is super easy to do

Just make sure your oats are really gluten-free!

Yeast - the yeast makes your loukoumades nice and fluffy. Make sure the salt and yeast don't get together because the yeast won't work either.

I always use instant yeast in my recipes unless otherwise specified. So this also does not need to dissolve in warm water and sugar first.

Honey - honey is the star of this dish, so use one you really like! I also always like to buy local honey from a beekeeper.

Oil - I always recommend using sunflower oil for frying. You can heat this oil to a high temperature, and it has a neutral taste.

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and stir briefly. Then add the milk little by little.

Flour doesn't always need the same amount of milk or water; mixing it in bit by bit prevents your batter from getting too wet!

Like oliebollen batter, the batter for loukoumades is somewhat thin. This will be totally fine during baking.

Cover the mixing bowl with some cling film and let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour or until it has doubled in volume.

Heat the oil to 180 degrees celsius or 356 Fahrenheit and carefully drop in balls of the batter using two teaspoons or a small ice cream scoop. Do not fry too many at once because the oil will not maintain its temperature well, and the balls will become greasy.

After about 2-3 minutes, you can turn the balls over. When they are nicely golden brown, scoop them out of the oil and let them drain on some kitchen paper.

Place them on a plate and pour over some honey and some sesame seeds, if desired.

Equipment

A large mixing bowl and a whisk.
To fry the loukoumades, you will need a deep fryer or thick-bottomed pan + a thermometer.
A kitchen scale and a measuring cup.
It is useful to have a colander and kitchen paper handy for draining.

Storage

Loukoumades stay good for about three days. Store them airtight at room temperature to prevent them from drying out.

You can also freeze them if you want to keep them longer. Before freezing, divide them into freezer bags or trays this way, they will stay fresh for about three months.

To warm them up, place them in a preheated oven for a few minutes or heat them up in the microwave.

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