Enter the kitchen, preheat the oven or fill a pot with oil, and embark on a culinary journey with these fantastic recipes for a Hanukkah filled with miracles, wonders and delicious sufganiyot.
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Butter Sufganiyot
By Rafi Cohen
Ingredients:
- 1 kg regular white flour
- 50 g fresh yeast
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 200 g slightly softened butter, cut into cubes
- 4 tbsp cognac
- 1 tsp high-quality vanilla extract
- 500-600 ml milk
For frying:
- 2 liters of clarified butter (can be substituted with corn oil)
- For the strawberry jam:
- ½ kg fresh strawberries, quartered
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- For serving:
- 1 cup sugar
Preparation:
- In a small bowl, mix yeast with half a cup of milk and sugar. Stir well and set aside for 10 minutes.
- In a mixer with a dough hook, combine all dough ingredients except butter and the yeast mixture set aside. Mix on slow speed for about 3 minutes. Add the yeast mixture.
- Gradually add butter cubes while mixing at a slow speed until fully incorporated. Continue to knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is slightly soft but not too soft. Add a bit more flour if needed.
- Transfer to a large, deep bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise for about 2 hours.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and form ping-pong-sized balls using your hands. Place them on a baking tray lined with slightly floured parchment paper, 15 cm apart. Cover with another parchment paper and let them rise in a warm place for about an hour until they triple in size.
- In a deep, wide pot, heat the clarified butter to 180°C and fry the sufganiyot for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to absorbent paper.
- Quick strawberry jam - Combine all ingredients in a wide, deep pan and cook over very high heat, stirring, for about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
For serving - Pour a cup of white sugar into a deep plate. Dip the hot sufganiyot in sugar, then set aside. Place a sufganiyah on each plate, add a spoonful of jam, and serve.
Chocolate Filled Sufganiyot
By Erez Komarovsky
Note: Total proofing time is between 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes
Ingredients (for 25 medium sufganiyot):
- 500 g challah flour
- 25 g yeast
- 80 g (8 tablespoons) sugar
- 5 g (1 teaspoon) salt
- 1 egg
- 3 egg yolks
- 80 g room temperature butter
- 1 tablespoon brandy
- Grated zest of one lemon
- 200 ml water or milk
- Oil for deep frying
- For the chocolate ganache filling:
- 1 container (250 ml) sweet cream
- 200 g quality dark chocolate, broken into cubes
Preparation:
- Prepare the filling - Bring the cream to a boil in a pot, remove from heat. Add chocolate cubes, wait a minute, then stir well until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool, cover, and refrigerate until the cream hardens.
- Make the dough - Sift flour into a bowl, crumble in the yeast, and mix. Add sugar, salt, egg, egg yolks, butter, lemon zest, brandy, and half the liquid. Start kneading. Add more liquid as the dough absorbs it until a stable but soft dough forms. Knead for 5 minutes continuously in a mixer with a dough hook or by hand, until the dough is uniform, smooth, lump-free, and slightly elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover well, and let rise for 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Shaping and second proofing - Release the air bubbles from the dough and start shaping. Divide the dough into 25 equal pieces (40 g each if weighing). Uniform size ensures even frying. On a clean, unfloured work surface, roll each piece into a smooth ball. If the dough is slightly sticky, flour your hands lightly.
- Generously oil a sheet of baking paper with corn oil and place it on a large tray. Place the balls on it 2.5 cm apart to allow them to puff up without sticking. Gently brush all the balls with corn oil, including the sides (this prevents drying until frying). Allow the sufganiyot to puff up nicely, about 20 minutes. They're ready when they feel springy and not stiff to a gentle touch.
- Frying - Meanwhile, heat a deep pot with oil at least halfway up to 180-190°C. If you don't have a thermometer, insert an upside-down wooden spoon into the oil. If many oil bubbles gather around the handle, you can start frying.
- Gently lift a sufganiyah from the paper, careful not to deform it. Turn it into the hot oil so the top side goes in first and the bottom (resting on the baking paper) is up at the start of frying.
- Carefully add a few sufganiyot to the oil, but don't overcrowd them as they will continue to puff up in the oil. After about 50 seconds, slightly lift one sufganiyah with a wooden spoon and check its color, adjusting the flame accordingly. If the color is very dark, lower the heat, and vice versa. Constantly check the oil temperature for successful frying.
- Turn the sufganiyot with a wooden spoon (simply push them, and with a gentle nudge, they will flip on their own). Fry again for about 50 seconds to a minute for a nice color.
- Remove one sufganiyah with a slotted spoon and cut it in the middle to ensure no raw dough is in the center. If the sufganiyot are ready, remove all and place them on paper towels. Continue frying the rest of the sufganiyot. Let them cool until they can be handled, fill a large syringe or a piping bag with ganache, and inject into the sufganiyot. If any ganache is left, melt it and dip the sufganiyot tops in it.