Middle Eastern Syrup Donuts
I've said in an earlier post how I used to shun my mums 'ethnic' cooking. This was never true for the sweets, in fact, I would dream of all the cream filled or syrup glazed treats I would get when we visited family. Sometimes I get a craving for a particular treat and I can't stop thinking about it until I satisfied the craving.
This dish is one 'ethnic' sweet which I can't get enough of. I only make it when I know others will be around to share. It doesn't last well for the next day, so they needs to be eaten straight away. Sadly it doesn't convert well to a gluten free version, so it's either going to be shared or I eat the entire thing. The latter doesn't help my self esteem...
This recipe takes about 90 minutes all up and serves 12-16 people, depending on their sweet tooth.
Ingredients
Syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Optional -1/4 tsp rose water or small squeeze of lemon
Donuts
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup butter
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Vegetable oil for frying and chopped pistachios for topping
Method
For the syrup, put the sugar and water in a pot and bring to a simmer on medium high heat and cook for 10 minutes until sugar is fully dissolved. Stir in the vanilla and rose water or lemon juice and transfer into a bowl.
For the donuts, add the water, salt and butter to a pot and bring to the boil. once all dissolved, add the flour all at once and stir, over the heat until the flour is cooked out and the dough comes away from the sides (like choux pastry) See the first picture below. Transfer to a mixing bowl and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Using an electric mixer on low-medium, incorporate the eggs, one at a time, making sure they are well mixed in before adding the next egg. Finally mix in the vanilla and spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a 1-1.5cm nozzle.
Bring the oil to temperature - medium! if it's too hot, the outside will burn and the inside will be runny. Drop 3cm long pieces into the oil, using a knife to cut each segment as you squeeze it out of the piping bag. You can crowd the pan, but not too much as the mixture will expand.
Remove once golden and drain on a paper towel, then while the donut is still hot, immerse into the syrup mixture and turn to coat and remove and place on plate. Repeat process until ll the mixture has been used up.
Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve immediately.
Tips
If you have every deep fried anything, you are going to find it hard to not turn the heat up - but trust me - the heat has to be medium!
The donuts double in size so keep that in mind when piping them out and when deciding which nozzle to use.
