YOYOS (TUNISIAN HONEY-DIPPED ORANGE DOUGHNUTS)
SOURCE: COPELAND MARKS. THE GREAT BOOK OF COUSCOUS: CLASSIC CUISINES OF MOROCCO, ALGERIA, AND TUNISIA.
Orange-glazed doughnuts show up prominently on festive Tunisian tables regardless of religious denomination. Pious Maghrebi Jews insist on respectively fitting the deep-fried golden pastries and their sweet syrupy dip with the miraculous narrative of the burning lamp oil that fueled Hanukkah and the hopeful message of survival and deliverance that inspired Purim. For devoted practitioners of Islam, the irresistible presence of these delicacies herald the end of the monthlong Ramadan season and pave the way for Eid al-Fitr. On a regular day, Tunisian pastry shops sell them to go along with a morning cup of Arabic coffee or an afternoon cup of mint tea with pine nuts.
Ingredients
Doughnuts
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons/25 grams sugar
2 tablespoons/30 mL corn oil or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon/2 grams baking powder
2 cups/240 grams all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
Grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon/3 mL orange blossom water
Olive oil for deep-frying
Orange Honey Dip
1 cup/200 grams sugar
1/3 cup/80 mL freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon/1 mL orange blossom water
1/8 teaspoon/0.6 mL pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1/4 teaspoon/0.6 grams cornstarch OR arrowroot dissolved in 2 tablespoons/30 mL water
Specific Equipment
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Rolling pin
Well-floured pastry board
Doughnut cutter with a diameter of 3 inches/7.6 cm
Medium frying pan
Paper towels
Small saucepan
Toothpick or metal skewer
Fork or chopsticks
Wire rack set over a tray
Makes 10 to 12 doughnuts
Instructions
1. Stir the eggs, sugar, olive oil, baking powder, flour, orange zest, and orange blossom water in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until well-blended and the dough is pliable and elastic. If the dough is still moist, stir in more flour until the dough is manageable but not dry.
2. Transfer the dough on a well-floured pastry board or surface and roll to a thickness of 1/2 inch/1.27 cm. Cut the dough into flat 3-inch/7.6-cm rounds with a doughnut cutter. Set the doughnuts aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan set over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce the heat to a simmer under low heat and drop the doughnuts in batches of 3 or 4. Deep-fry the doughnuts for 2 to 3 minutes, turning them midway, or until the doughnuts float onto the surface and have turned golden brown on both sides. Remove the doughnuts from the frying pan and set over paper towels to drain.
4. Stir the sugar, orange juice, orange blossom water, and vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste in a small saucepan and cover with enough water. Set the saucepan over low heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened slightly into a light syrup. Stir in the cornstarch or arrowroot mixture until well-blended. Remove from heat and keep the dip warm.
5. Pierce several holes on both sides of each doughnut and plunge them, one by one, into the warm dip. Remove each doughnut from the dip with a fork or chopsticks and place the doughnuts on a wire rack set over a tray to drain excess syrup. Cool the doughnuts to room temperature for at least 1 hour to air-dry before transferring them to a serving plate.
