Touloumba

Touloumba is another traditional sweet dessert. A speciality coming from (initially) the Greeks of Asia Minor and then the recipe passed on to Northern Greece where you can find the best Touloumbes (in plural) in the country (especially in Thessaloniki). It is though a speciality that can be found in Turkey as well and as you know by now the Turks and Greeks share many delicious recipes. It is a very tasty dessert, made of a kind of pastry but without any filling inside. First they get deep fried and then dipped in thick syrup

Ingredients

For the pastry:
6 tbsp of butter
 1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups flour

5 large eggs, beaten

1 cup corn oil
1/2 cup light olive oil

For the syrup:
2 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:
First, prepare the syrup with the ingredients shown above by boiling for 5 minutes, you need it to be thick. Put it aside and let it cool completely.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add in the water, the milk, the sugar and the salt. Bring to boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat and stir in the flour. Remove from the heat and beat the ingredients vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return to heat and cook, beating constantly, for only a few seconds until the mixture no longer sticks to the pan. Remove then from the heat and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.

Add a small amount of the beaten eggs into the mixture and stir until well mixed. Slowly add more eggs until all are well absorbed and you end up with a nice and smooth pastry.

Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag with a large decorative tube (or smaller in case you prefer small Touloumbes) fitted in the end of it. See photos on top and at the bottom.

Heat the corn oil and the olive oil in a deep frying pan. Carefully squeeze out pieces of pastry (a few at a time) into the hot oil, each one being 4 or 5 cm long (or longer in case of the big Touloumbes).

When they start to rise to the surface, turn the Touloumbes over and fry them until all sides are golden brown (about 10 minutes). Be careful not to burn them.

Remove them with a slotted spoon and let them drain on kitchen paper.

Dip the Touloumbes into the syrup and serve them cold or at room temperature. They keep well at room temperature for about one week.