Those with experience making the traditional melomakarona will find this recipe by Stelios Parliaros easy.
Materials for about 3 kilos:
For the melomakarona01
400 g orange juice
530 g sunflower oil
50 g butter, melted
30 g icing sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/6 tsp cloves
zest of 1 orange
1,200 g flour
For the syrup
500 g water
700 g sugar
1 orange, cut in half
2 cinnamon sticks
100 g honey
walnuts, coarsely chopped, for sprinkling
honey, for the honey dressing
Procedure
Step 1
Add the water, sugar, orange, and cinnamon sticks to a saucepan for the syrup. Bring to a boil, let it boil for 1 minute, and remove. Add the honey and let it cool.
Step 2
For the melomakarona: Pour all the liquids and the butter into a deep bowl. Add the powdered sugar, baking soda, and all the spices together. Mix by hand and add the flour. Continue gently mixing by hand from the centre outwards so that the dough does not string (you do not need to mix too much so it does not become stiff).
Step 3
Shape the melomakarona into small ovals and grate one surface. Place them on parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes until they turn a dark golden colour.
Step 4
As soon as they come out of the oven, we drop them into the cold syrup. With a spoon, we turn them for about 1 minute. We then take them out and leave them in a sieve to drain.
Step 5
Add a little honey and coarsely chopped walnuts to a plate. Place the melomakarona in a row and repeat the process several times.
Recipe by Stelios Parliaros for Cantina.
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