Cape Malay Cardamom bollas recipe
Light and airy yeast free doughnuts flavored with cardamom and dipped in a fragrant saffron and orange blossom syrup.
Recipe PDF
Ingredients
Batter
- 280 grams cake or fine sponge flour approximately 2 cups or 500 ml
- 10 ml baking powder approximately 2 teaspoons
- 5 ml fine cardamom approximately 1 teaspoon
- 1 ml salt approximately 1/4 teaspoon
- 67.5 grams fine granulated sugar approximately 92.5 ml
- 1 egg
- 92.5 ml oil 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon
- 250 ml buttermilk approximately 1 cup
- 5 ml vanilla extract approximately 1 teaspoon
- Oil for deep frying should be at least 5 cm deep
Saffron syrup
- 500 grams sugar fine granulated, approximately 625 ml or 2 1/2 cups
- 500 ml water approximately 2 cups
- 10 stamens saffron
- 5 ml orange blossom water approximately 1 teaspoon
- 15 ml fresh lemon juice approximately 1 tablespoon
- 5 ml butter approximately 1 teaspoon
Decoration
- 125 ml pistachios coarsely ground
Instructions
- Sift the flour, cardamom and baking powder together in a bowl with the salt and set aside.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl until it has doubled in volume and the color has turned pale yellow.
- Add the oil and vanilla and whisk again to combine.
- Add the buttermilk and whisk again for a minute.
- Add the sifted flour and mix into a sticky dough. If your buttermilk container was larger than 250ml DO NOT add the rest of it to the dough as it makes it runny and prone to spilling out of itself when frying.
- Fry a tablespoon full in moderately hot oil until golden and cooked through. Adjust the heat if required to ensure that the bollas are not browned too quickly and undercooked. If the oil is too cold it will soak it up like a sponge. Do not crowd the frying space.
- When cooked remove the bollas with a slotted spoon and place on a tray lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Leave to cool completely before putting in the sugar syrup.
- For the syrup boil all the ingredients together until the syrup starts to bubble, about 15-20 minutes. If it is too thin it will be watery and soak into the bolla instead of forming a glossy cover.
- Remove the bollas from the syrup with a slotted spoon and toss in ground pistachios.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- If you do not have buttermilk you can substitute the same amount (250 ml) of full cream milk mixed with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice (leave to stand for 5-10 minutes so that it thickens and add another tablespoon only if required). Alternatively you may use plain drinking yogurt or laban that has a similar consistency as buttermilk.
- If you do not have orange blossom water, use the finely grate rind of 1/2 an orange instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 209kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 3gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 33mgPotassium: 128mgFiber: 1gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 54IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 1mg
Disclaimer: Nutritional information for the recipe is an approximation and varies according to the ingredients and products used.
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