Greek Loukoumades (Honey Doughnut Puffs)
Spoonfuls of a bubbly yeast batter fried into crisp golden puffs, dropped into cold honey syrup and showered with walnuts, cinnamon and sesame, Greece's favorite street-food sweet.
Loukoumades are part of a family of syrup-soaked fried dough balls found from Greece and Turkey to Iraq and the Gulf. Wikipedia says the dish was written down as luqmat al-qadi, "judge's morsels", in 13th-century Arabic cookbooks, appears in "One Thousand and One Nights", and gives its Arabic name, luqma, "morsel", to both the Turkish lokma and the Greek loukoumades. Greece has its own ancient candidate: Wikipedia says ancient Greek writers mention enkrides, which Athenaeus describes as cakes boiled in oil and seasoned in honey, and that the treat stayed popular in Byzantium during Lent because it contains no dairy or meat. Which came first is DISPUTED. Greece's national tourism organization lists loukoumades among its recipes: a simple flour, yeast and water batter fried in olive oil and served with honey, cinnamon and sesame.
Why it works the kitchen science
Hot puffs, cold syrup
The temperature difference lets the syrup soak just the outer layer, so the shell stays crisp instead of turning soggy.
A very wet, very bubbly batter
The long rise fills it with gas, so each spoonful balloons in the oil into a hollow, airy ball.
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the syrup: simmer the sugar, honey, water and spices 15 minutes. Cool completely (refrigerate it while the batter rises).
- Step 2
Stir the yeast and 1/2 tbsp sugar into 1/2 cup of the warm water and let stand about 5 minutes, until foamy.
- Step 3
Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water, 2 tbsp sugar, the flour, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, nutmeg and vanilla. Beat until thick, smooth and stretchy.
- Step 4
Cover and let rise in a warm place 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until almost doubled, very soft and full of bubbles.
- Step 5
Heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F. Dip a tablespoon in water, scoop a heaped spoonful of batter and push it into the oil with a second wet spoon (or pipe it). Fry 8 to 10 at a time, turning often, 3 to 4 minutes, until crisp and golden all over. Let the oil return to 350°F between batches.
- Step 6
Drain the puffs briefly, then drop them into the cold syrup for 1 minute and lift them onto a platter.
- Step 7
Mix the walnuts and cinnamon, scatter them over the puffs with the sesame seeds and serve warm.
Greek Loukoumades (Honey Doughnut Puffs)
Serves 8 (four or five puffs each) · about 36 puffs · 2 hr total
Honey syrup (make first)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Optional: 1 cinnamon stick and 2 whole cloves
Batter
- 2 tbsp active dry yeast
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar, divided
- 2 cups warm water, divided
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frying and finishing
- About 2 quarts vegetable or olive oil, for frying
- 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Method
- Make the syrup: simmer the sugar, honey, water and spices 15 minutes. Cool completely (refrigerate it while the batter rises).
- Stir the yeast and 1/2 tbsp sugar into 1/2 cup of the warm water and let stand about 5 minutes, until foamy.
- Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water, 2 tbsp sugar, the flour, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, nutmeg and vanilla. Beat until thick, smooth and stretchy.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until almost doubled, very soft and full of bubbles.
- Heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F. Dip a tablespoon in water, scoop a heaped spoonful of batter and push it into the oil with a second wet spoon (or pipe it). Fry 8 to 10 at a time, turning often, 3 to 4 minutes, until crisp and golden all over. Let the oil return to 350°F between batches.
- Drain the puffs briefly, then drop them into the cold syrup for 1 minute and lift them onto a platter.
- Mix the walnuts and cinnamon, scatter them over the puffs with the sesame seeds and serve warm.
Adapted from Helen Demetriou of Helen's Kouzina, "Traditional Loukoumades", in The Greek Herald (June 24, 2022): with the honey, cinnamon and sesame finish from the Greek National Tourism Organisation. Demetriou's list says 2 cups of warm water but her method adds 1 1/2 cups to the first 1/2 cup; we follow the method (2 cups in all). She gives no oil temperature or serving count; 350°F, the yield and the servings are ours. greekherald.com.au. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Demetriou's mother-in-law's tip: the teaspoon of lemon juice helps them crunch.
- For the Visit Greece version, skip the syrup and drizzle the puffs with warm honey, cinnamon and sesame.
- A wet spoon, or a piping bag, keeps the sticky batter from clinging.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Loukoumades are ancient Greek. Disputed: Wikipedia says there is evidence they descend from ancient Greek enkrides, fried and served with honey; it also says the name and the recipe were recorded in 13th-century Arabic cookbooks as luqmat al-qadi.
- They were the "honey tokens" given to ancient Olympic winners. Folklore: repeated on Greek food sites with a reference to Callimachus; we did not find it in Wikipedia's article or check the source.
- Loukoumades are fried in olive oil. Folklore: the Greek tourism recipe uses olive oil; many cooks use vegetable oil.
- The syrup must be cold and the puffs hot. Documented in Demetriou's method (cold syrup, 1 minute dip).
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