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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Loukoumades – Greek doughnuts

December 4, 2015 by Ania - 18

easy, Greek, yeastgo to recipe

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loukoumades greek doughnuts in syrup

We have a real treat for you today – delicious dough puffs drizzled in an aromatic syrup and sprinkled with finely chopped nuts.

These delicacies are loukoumades, Greek doughnuts, which taste similar to doughnuts yet they are so much easier to make. They make fantastic coffee or tea companions. I can guarantee you that despite your best efforts, you will find it a challenge to stop at just one or two as they are completely addictive.

I know what I’m talking about. On the day of the photoshoot, every time I passed by the plate with loukoumades, I had to have one. By the end of the day I made a quick calculation and realised that I must have hoovered up at least a dozen of these golden brown beauties.

My advice to you is invite some friends over before you set the pot on the stove. I don’t know anyone who would say ‘no’ to a freshly fried, homemade doughnut. Failing that, line up some hard exercise sessions for the next day;). They are so worth it!

PS: If you make my loukoumades, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

loukoumades greek doughnuts dough and fried puffs

loukoumades greek doughnuts glazing

loukoumades greek doughnuts side

loukoumades greek doughnuts top down

loukoumades greek doughnuts for dessert

loukoumades greek doughnuts close up

5.00 from 4 votes
Print
  • makes: 35
  • prep: 20 min
  • cooking: 15 min

Ingredients

DOUGH

  • 2 cups of white all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup / 240 ml lukewarm water
  • ½ cup lukewarm almond milk
  • 1 sachet (7 g) dry instant yeast
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp oil + more for frying

SYRUP & GARNISH

  • ½ cup / 120 ml maple syrup**
  • 1 orange (¼ cup / 60 ml orange juice + orange and zest)
  • a quill of cinnamon
  • handful of pistachios or walnuts, very finely chopped

Method

LOUKOUMADES

  1. Mix all the dry ingredients together including yeast. Then add lukewarm water and milk and mix well until you get a runny batter similar to pancake batter.
  2. Cover with a piece of cling film and rest it for about 1-2 hours (in warm weather it will take less time), until dough triples in size and there are lots of air bubbles visible (see photo).
  3. Once the dough is ready, heat up a small pot with oil on the stove. Once the oil is hot, dip a teaspoon in it and then scoop a teaspoon of the dough and gently drop it into hot oil. Give the dough a good stir in between batches.
  4. Fry about 4 loukoumades at one time. As the dough is very puffy / airy, they have a tendency to float, make sure you flip them now and again to be sure they are cooked evenly.
  5. Once your loukoumades are golden brown all over, fish them out of the oil with a fork or a slotted spoon and place them on a few layers of kitchen roll to get rid of excess oil.
  6. Pour hot (that’s important!) syrup over your loukoumades and sprinkle some finely chopped pistachios and optionally some orange zest. Serve immediately.

SYRUP

  1. Put maple syrup, 60 ml of orange juice and cinnamon quill in a small saucepan.
  2. Bring the mixture to boil and then simmer very gently for 10-15 minutes until the syrup thickens a little.
  3. Fish out cinnamon quill and pour hot syrup over hot loukoumades.

Notes

* The dough recipe has been adapted from this recipe
** You can also make a simple sugar syrup if you don’t have maple syrup.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Glen Marlow says

    October 27, 2016 at 9:13 am

    Love this website, so much to pick from.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      October 27, 2016 at 3:09 pm

      Aw, thanks so much, Glen 🙂 That’s so nice to hear! Ania

      Reply
  2. Emma says

    November 15, 2016 at 10:11 pm

    Hi there,
    What oil do you use for frying them and how deep do you fill the pan? Could they be done in a deep fat fryer?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 15, 2016 at 10:36 pm

      Hi Emma,

      I used sunflower oil and filled the smallest pot I have with about 7.5 cm / 3 in of oil. I don’t have a deep fat fryer myself, but I’m sure that would work even better! Good luck and hope you’ll like them! 🙂

      Reply
      • Emma says

        November 19, 2016 at 10:14 pm

        Lovely, thankyou! 😊

        Reply
        • Ania says

          November 20, 2016 at 11:59 am

          I would love to hear what you thought! Hope you’ll love them as much as do! x

          Reply
  3. Hannah says

    June 29, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    Can I ask where and how you take your photograph’s? They’re all so beautifully shot!

    I’m currently learning more tips and tricks for photography – i’m really a newbie!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      June 29, 2017 at 7:32 pm

      Thanks Hannah 🙂 There is really no secret to it – all you need good light and a camera that does manual settings. I shoot all my photos by a well lit window but you could also use a large lightbox instead. Like with everything, the key is practice. The more photos you take the better they get! Good luck and enjoy the journey! 🙂 Ania

      Reply
  4. Blair thornton says

    February 8, 2018 at 9:28 am

    I made these today and followed recipe exactly and my dough was quite thick not like a pancake batter as you mentioned

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 8, 2018 at 2:02 pm

      Hi Blair,

      It may be because the flour you have used has higher absorbency than the one I had or could it be that you were a bit more generous with your cups? In any case, adding more liquid is what is required here. Ania

      Reply
  5. Charlotte says

    November 12, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    Looks so tasty! Can you make anything in advance (dough or the donuts)? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 13, 2018 at 11:43 am

      I haven’t tried but my guess is that it will impact the flavour negatively. Ania

      Reply
  6. Sabeena says

    December 15, 2018 at 6:28 pm

    Just come across this website. Amazing ! Thank you for the wonderful ideas.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 15, 2018 at 9:14 pm

      Thank you, Sabeena! That’s lovely to hear! Ania

      Reply
  7. Victoria says

    October 29, 2019 at 10:57 am

    I’ve tried so many different recipes trying to find the right one and this one takes the cake. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I did use normal milk instead of almond milk though. Love it! Thank you 🙂

    Reply
    • Ania says

      October 29, 2019 at 2:51 pm

      Glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Victoria! Ania

      Reply
  8. Amy Pham says

    May 5, 2020 at 4:05 pm

    I tried this recipe tonight and it was awesome. Super light and fluffy. I didnt spoon it out into the oil, instead I reccomend getting a ziploc bag and puuting a teaspoon of oil in it and seal it, mix the bag around and spread the oil, then open and add the mixture in, cut a little snippet of the corner of the bag and pipe into the oil with scissors to snip the dough. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      May 5, 2020 at 7:49 pm

      Hi Amy,

      Thanks so much for this lovely review, I am delighted to hear that you liked it! Great idea to use a makeshift piping bag especially if it’s something you can reuse. Cheers! Ania

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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