Honey Buns (Greek Melomakarona)

Photo: vanillakanela

Ingredients

9 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup fine semolina

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cups ground walnuts

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup sunflower oil

250 grams soft butter

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

2/3 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup brandy

2 Juice from oranges

1/2 Juice from lemon

For the syrup

500 grams water

700 grams icing sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

1 orange cut in half

300 grams thyme honey

Preparation

First prepare the syrup so that it has cooled by the time you come to pour it on the melomakarona.     Put all the ingredients except the honey in a pan and boil for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat, add 100gr honey and set aside to cool.

Beat the sugar, olive oil, sunflower oil and butter in a mixer for 15 minutes.   Add the orange juice and the egg yolks and continue beating until the mixture has formed a creamy texture.   Add the brandy.

Dissolve the soda in the lemon juice and add to the mixture and keep beating for another minute.

Take a cup of flour and add to it the nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder and cloves.  Add this mixture to the rest of the flour.   Make a dough with the liquid mixture from the mixer and the flour gently with your hands, but it is very important that you don’t overhandle the dough.   Take small portions of the dough and roll them into oval balls in your palm and place them on a non-stick oven dish.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes.

While they are still warm, dip them in the cold syrup and place them in layers in a plate.   When the first layer is full take a spoonful of honey diluted with ½ cup of syrup and spread over the melomakarona.   Sprinkle the ground walnuts on top.   Continue like this with the other layers.