If we recorded all the recipes which include honey from ancient times until the present, we would be able to fill tomes of cook books. Here, we mention just a few of these tested favorites.
Ingredients
for the dough
1 c warm water
1 c warm milk
2 envelopes dry yeast or 60g fresh
1 T honey
½ t salt
2 T olive oil
3 ½ c all purpose flour
For garnishing
Honey
Cinnamon
Chopped walnuts
Dissolve the yeast in the water. Combine with the remaining ingredients and mix with an electric mixer for 2 minutes at high speed in order to obtain a smooth batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to rise and for bubbles to appear on the surface. Punch down the dough. With a small spoon dipped in water, cut small pieces of the dough and fry them in the hot olive oil. Dip the spoon in water every time to avoid sticking. Use a slotted spoon to press the puffs down in the pan so that they are completely submerged in the oil to ensure even browning. As soon as you remove the puffs from the oil, sprinkle them with the honey, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Honey puffs are best when served fresh out of the frying pan.
Ingredients
For the crust
90 g (2/3 c) flour, sifted
125 cold butter
60 g (1/3 c) sugar
1 egg yolk
150 g (2/3 c) peeled almonds
For the filling
300 g (1 1/2 c) strained yogurt
340 g (2 c) soft, fresh cheese (ricotta or other)
4 eggs
Zest from 1 lemon
135 g (2/3 c) sugar
1 T corn starch
2 T honey
1 T cognac
Grease a spring-form pan (23 cm diameter). Line the bottom with wax paper and grease this. Grind the almonds in a food processor until fine and remove from the mixer. Blend the butter, yolk, lemon zest and sugar with the food processor/mixer. Remove and place in a large bowl. Blend in the flour and the almonds. Knead with your hands until you have a soft dough. Roll into a ball and then pat down. Wrap the dough in plastic and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove the dough from the fridge and if it’s very hard, let it stand at room temperature until you can pat it into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and let cool.
For the filling, blend the yogurt, cheese, egg yolks and the lemon zest. In a separate bowl, beat the whites until stiff, slowly adding the sugar and finally the corn starch. Fold into the cheese mixture. After the crust has cooled, fill with the filling and bake at 140°C. for 1 hour. Let the cake stand in the oven (turned off) with the door open. Remove from the oven and after using a knife to loosen the cake, remove the pan’s outer ring. Warm the cognac with the honey and pour over the cheese cake. Serve at room temperature.
Ingredients
For the crust
800 g (6 ½ c) flour
1 t salt
125 ml (1/2 c) olive oil
warm water
For the filling
½ kg (3 c) tyrovolia cheese from Mykonos or 350 g ricotta + 150 g feta, crumbled
320 g (1 c) honey
135 g (2/3 c) sugar
4 eggs
½ t cinnamon
250 g butter
For the syrup
125 ml (1/2 c) water
160 g (1/2 c) honey
a few drops of lemon juice
Heat the oil in a pan and when hot, combine with the flour (it will crackle!) and the other crust ingredients until soft and not sticky. Let rest at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to
180°C .
Grease a pan (45cm x 45 cm) with olive oil. Divide the dough in halves and roll out each half to fit in the pan. Line the bottom of the pan with one sheet.
Combine all the ingredients of the filling, except the butter, and fill the pan. Cut the butter in pieces and sprinkle over the filling. Cover with the second sheet of dough and join the edges with the bottom sheet. Poke holes with a fork.
Bake for approximately 1 hour. In the meantime, make the syrup by heating the water, honey and lemon juice together in a small saucepan. Pour the hot syrup over the pie as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool and serve at room temperature.