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Greek pastry puffs with lemon curd

Australian Gourmet Traveller dessert recipe for Greek pastry puffs with lemon curd (tiganites).

By Lisa Featherby
  • 20 mins preparation
  • 30 mins cooking plus cooling
  • Serves 6
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These pastries are called tiganites, which means "fried" in Greek. They are light and airy, very similar to the French choux pastry. We've added lemon curd and Greek yoghurt for dipping, but you could just roll them in cinnamon sugar while they're still hot from frying, or dip them in a scented syrup.

Ingredients

  • For deep-frying: vegetable oil
  • 120 gm butter, coarsely chopped
  • 180 gm self-raising flour, sieved
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ orange, finely grated rind only
  • For dusting: caster sugar
  • To serve: Greek-style yoghurt
Lemon curd
  • 125 ml (½ cup) lemon juice
  • 110 gm unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 100 gm caster sugar

Method

Main
  • 1
    For lemon curd, combine lemon juice and butter in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir occasionally until butter melts (4-5 minutes). Meanwhile, whisk yolks and sugar in a separate heatproof bowl to combine, then add hot lemon mixture, whisking continuously to combine. Place over simmering water and stir continuously until mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon thickly (7-8 minutes), then cool over ice, transfer to a sterilised jar and refrigerate until required. Lemon curd will keep refrigerated for 1 month. Makes about 350ml.
  • 2
    Preheat oil in a deep-fryer or deep-sided saucepan to 170C. Combine butter and 250ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Add flour, beat until combined and smooth (1-2 minutes), then transfer mixture to an electric mixer and, beating continuously, add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition, until smooth. Add vanilla and orange rind, beat to combine. Spoon tablespoons of mixture in batches into hot oil and turn occasionally until golden and puffed (5-6 minutes; be careful as hot oil may spit). Drain on absorbent paper, then lightly roll in sugar and serve warm with lemon curd and yoghurt.