Ingredients
3 eggs
55 g (¼ cup) sugar
300 g (2 cups) plain flour
1 tbsp oil, to oil hands
extra virgin olive oil, for frying
Syrup
350 g (1 cup) honey
220 g (1 cup) sugar
3 tsp orange juice
125 ml (½ cup) water
½ cinnamon stick
2 cloves
To serve
ground walnuts
sugared almonds
edible flowers
ground cinnamon
Instructions
Resting time: 30 minutes
Whisk the eggs vigorously until pale. Add sugar and continue whisking until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the flour, whisking constantly, until a dough forms. Oil your hands and knead the dough until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half until thin or else use a pasta machine. To test if it is thin enough, when you lift a corner of the dough and gently blow under it, it should lift. Using a serrated pastry cutter, cut the dough into 8 cm x 10 cm strips. Pinch the two sides of each strip together at 2-3 cm intervals and pull into circles, squeezing together to make firm. They will look like frilly rosettes. A much simpler way is to roll the dough out the width of a pasta machine (approx. 13 cm) and then cut into lengths of around 12 cm.
Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large, wide frying pan to a depth of 7 cm. Drop the prepared rosette diples in the pan a couple at a time and cook until a gentle golden colour, rolling over to cook both sides. If you are using the flat shapes, hold one edge with tongs and place in the hot oil. As they start to puff, roll into cylinder shapes. This can be done with another pair of tongs or in Greece they use a long carving fork and a spatula. Drain on paper towel.
Place syrup ingredients in a large saucepan and cook over low heat until hot. Dip the diples in hot syrup, making sure they are completely coated. Drain.
Serve diples decorated with ground walnuts, sugared almonds and edible flower petals, dusted with cinnamon.
Cook's notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
By Lyndey Milan