Tulumba Pastries

So, what is a Tulumba?  It is a Greek/Turkish beingnet.  They kind of look like a churro.  They are made using  choux paste, piped out of a pastry bag with a star tip into hot oil and soaked in lemon sugar syrup.  They are delicious.  What is a choux paste?  It is a French dough that is used typically for eclairs, cream puffs, Paris Brest and beingnets.   They are simple to make and are quite impressive to serve to guest.  If I am having a dinner party, I will make a double batch of Tulumbas, serve it in individual bowls for each guest and make different sauces for dipping, like chocolate, raspberry and creme anglaise.   It is very typical in Greece, Turkey and the Middle East to soak their confections in sugar syrup and honey syrup.  Either you love it or you hate it.  I grew up on these type of desserts and I adore them.  If you love baklava then your in the right place.  You can make these Tulumbas and not dip them in syrup, but I would sift a lot of powder sugar on top while they are hot and serve with the sauces.  I have sauce recipes below that I use.  The texture is crispy and the centers are somewhat hollow, the syrup just adds something to it.   It's sticky, crispy and slightly chewy.  My 12 year old daughter is the official taste tester and she can't get enough of them. 

Tulumba Dough:
choux paste

1 2/3 cup water
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup flour
3 eggs

2 cups sunflower,canola, peanut or any light flavorless oil for frying in heavy duty pot

Heat the water, butter and salt in a pot.

When it starts to boil, lower the heat and add in the flour.
Stirring constantly until the mixture leaves the sides of the pot and becomes doughy.
Remove from the heat put aside for a few minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, blend well before adding the next.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large cooking pot on medium heat.

Fill Pastry Bag with choux paste.
Squeeze out pieces about 3/4 inch long over hot oil.
Break them off with a dull knife and let them fall right into oil.
Fry each piece uniformly, push under using a slotted spoon,
until golden brown and crispy.
With slotted spoon scoop Tulumba onto kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
Let cool completely.

Choux Paste

Pastry Bag with a Star Tip

 Fry to a light golden brown

Dry on a Paper Towel or Tea Towel

Lemon Sugar Syrup:
3cups sugar
2 cups water
1 tsp lemon juice and add large cuts of
lemon rind into syrup to boil

Directions:
Put all the syrup ingredients into a heavy duty sauce pot and stir well.  Bring syrup to a boil  and then simmer on medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes until thick in consistency like thin maple syrup. While still warm throw Tulumbas in small batches in warm syrup for about 5 to 8 minutes remove and put into a colander for excess syrup to drip off.

Make sure they all soak in the syrup.  Leave to air dry so that syrup gets sticky.  Cover with loose clear wrap or foil.

These are the three dipping sauces I make when I am having a party.

Chocolate Sauce
Makes 2 1/2 cups of sauce

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup  light corn syrup or agave nectar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the water, sugar, corn syrup or agave, and cocoa powder.

2. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it’s just begun to simmer and boil, remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until melted.

Serving: You should let the Chocolate Sauce stand for a few hours before serving, which will give it time to thicken a bit.

Storage: Store the chocolate sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Rewarm before serving.

Raspberry Sauce (Makes: 2 cups)
1 half-pint package fresh raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup (12 ounces) seedless raspberry jam
 optional:  1 tablespoon Framboise liqueur

Place the raspberries, the sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and Framboise into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until smooth. Chill.

Creme Anglaise:
Makes 2 cups

2 cups light cream or half and half
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup  granulated white sugar
5 large egg yolks

Have a fine medium-sized strainer and bowl ready near the stove.

In a stainless steel bowl stir together, using a wooden spoon, the sugar and yolks until well blended. (Do not let this mixture sit too long or a film will develop on the yolks.)

In a small saucepan heat the cream and vanilla bean (if using) just to the boiling point. Remove from heat and whisk a few tablespoons of the cream into the yolk mixture. Then, gradually add the remaining cream, whisking constantly.

Pour this mixture into a medium sized saucepan and, over medium heat, gently heat the mixture to just below the boiling point (170 - 175 degrees F) (77 - 80 degrees C). You will notice that steam will begin to appear and the mixture will be slightly thicker than heavy cream. Do not boil or the eggs will curdle. Check to see if it is the right consistency by holding a wooden spoon sideways that is covered with the custard and run your finger along the back of the spoon. If the streak remains without the cream running down through the streak, it is ready.

Immediately remove from the heat and pour through the strainer, scraping up any thickened cream that settles on the bottom of the pan. Remove the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the sauce. Stir until seeds separate. For maximum flavor, return the pod to the sauce until serving time. (If you are using pure vanilla extract, instead of the vanilla bean, add it to the cream now.)

The creme anglaise can be refrigerated covered with plastic wrap for a couple of days.

Note: If sauce was overheated and curdling occurs, pour instantly into a blender and process until smooth before straining. If necessary, add a little heavy cream to the mixture before blending.