Zeppole festive doughnuts
Zeppole are small, golden doughnuts made with simple ingredients (flour and water), and sweetened with whatever's to hand – in this case, limoncello and honey.
Ingredients
- 250g/9oz plain flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 100g/3½oz runny honey
- 30ml/1fl oz limoncello
- vegetable oil, for deep frying
- 1 orange, rind removed and thinly sliced
- 1 lemon, rind removed and thinly sliced
Method
Place 250ml/9fl oz water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling, whisk in the flour, mixing well to avoid any lumps.
Spread the olive oil over a clean work surface, tip the flour mixture out and gently knead into a dough with your hands. Roll into a large, thick sausage and cut into 2.5cm/1in slices. Roll each slice into a long thin sausage, then cut each one in half and form into hoops, securing well at each end.
Meanwhile, combine the honey and limoncello in a bowl and place over a saucepan of gently boiling water to warm through.
Heat the vegetable oil to 180C in a deep saucepan. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Once hot, add the zeppole a few at a time and cook for 1 minute or until golden. Carefully remove from the oil and dip straight into the honey mixture. Cook all of the zeppole in this way, then transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle with any remaining honey mixture and decorate with the orange and lemon rind.