Mia Kouppa

https://miakouppa.com

Roxakia, Traditional Greek vanilla and chocolate pastries soaked in syrup

Vegan pastries from Northern Greece made with vanilla and chocolate dough, soaked in syrup

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Rising time2

Total Time2 55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Greek

Diet: Vegan

Servings: portions

Calories: 173kcal

Author: Billie Bitzas

Equipment

1 Mixer with dough hook attachment
1 kitchen scale optional but recommended
1 Rolling Pin
2 Baking tray
Parchment paper

Ingredients

For the syrup

2½ cups water
3 cups sugar
1 orange peel
1 orange, juiced
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamom pods optional

For the dough

¾ cup lukewarm water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp active dry yeast
3½ cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla powder
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
½ cup orange juice
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup olive oil

For the chocolate dough

½ cup cocoa
½ cup walnuts
4 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp olive oil optional, only if dough appears too dry

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the syrup

Squeeze the juice out of your orange after removing the peel. Crush the cardamom pods with the back of a knife. Combine all the ingredients for the syrup into a small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir and cook until sugar dissolves, and then for an additional 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool in the pot. Leave the orange peel, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods in the syrup as it cools.
2½ cups water, 3 cups sugar, 1 orange peel, 1 orange, juiced, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamom pods

Prepare the dough

In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the water, sugar and yeast. Whisk together until combined and allow to sit at room temperature for approximately 10 minutes. You should see the surface of your mixture puff up and bubble slightly.
¾ cup lukewarm water, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp active dry yeast
Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients together and whisk to combine. Set aside.
3½ cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp salt
Once your yeast has proofed, add the orange zest and the liquid ingredients to the bowl. Mix to combine using the dough hook attachment of your mixer. Next, add the dry ingredients and knead the dough for a few minutes until a soft ball is formed and it pulls from the side of the bowl.
1 tbsp orange zest, ½ cup orange juice, ½ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup olive oil
Measure your dough if you have a kitchen scale and separate it into 1/3 and 2/3 portions; my dough usually totals around 990 grams, so I reserve about 330 grams to make the chocolate dough. Transfer the larger portion of dough to a bowl, cover, and set aside to rise until doubled in size, or about 2 hours.
Return the smaller portion of dough to the bowl of the stand mixer. Sift the cocoa powder and cinnamon over the dough. Use a food processor or a blender to finely chop the walnuts. Add the finely crushed walnuts and the orange juice to the bowl. Knead with the dough hook attachment on medium speed until everything is well combined. if your dough appears too dry, add some additional olive oil. Set the dough aside, covered, to rise until doubled in size, or about 2 hours.
½ cup cocoa, ½ cup walnuts, 4 tbsp orange juice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp olive oil
Once your dough has risen separate both the vanilla and the chocolate dough into two halves. On a lightly floured surface roll one half of the chocolate dough into a log, about an inch thick and about 12 inches long - set aside. Then, on the same lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out half the vanilla dough into a rectangle - about 12 inches long and 8 inches high; the dough will be thin.
Place the chocolate dough along one of the long edges of the vanilla dough and roll the dough tightly so that the vanilla dough wraps around the chocolate dough. Using a sharp knife, slice the log into approximately 15 pieces, each about 1 inch thick; I use my thumb as a guide. Do not worry if you squish the dough as you are slicing through it. Repeat the entire process with the second half of the vanilla and chocolate dough.
Once all your slices are made, use your hands to shape the pastries into rounds and to flatten them until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Transfer them to a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in the middle rack of your oven for between 22 - 25 minutes; you will likely need to do this in batches.
Once all of your roxakia are baked, transfer them all to the same baking sheet or other container and pour the cooled syrup over them. Allow them to soak in the syrup for about 15 minutes and then carefully turn them over so that the top of the roxakia soak in the syrup as well. Turn them over again after about 5 minutes; at this point most of the syrup should have been absorbed.

Notes

If you prefer a less syrupy dessert, dip your roxakia, a few at a time into the syrup for about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and repeat until all your pastries are done.

If you prefer larger roxakia, do not divide your dough in half. Instead make a larger and thicker chocolate log and roll all the vanilla dough out to make a larger rectangle, the length of your chocolate log. Roll and slice into 1 - 1 1/2 inch thick slices.

You can make your roxakia ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator. Then, before serving, bring them to room temperature and prepare your syrup. Pour the hot syrup over your room temperature roxakia and serve once your syrup is soaked into the pastries.

Nutrition