Traditional Greek Christmas Dessert: Diples

Diples – deep-fried pastries soaked in honey. This dessert is named after the Greek word “fold” as the pastry is folded together to secure the sweet honey syrup, cinnamon and crushed walnuts.

Just imagine a crunchy filo followed by a burst of sweetness!

The Greek festive season brings the best desserts to the table and diples is definitely one of them.

They are not only quite simple to make, but also represent the Greek tradition of celebrating Christmas and special occasions.

To make diples, follow the recipe below. Check out our Instagram reel for a visual guide too @thegreekherald. 

Diples Recipe:

Serves: 24

Cooking Time: 1hour 30mins

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 4 cups of plain flour
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of ouzo
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Syrup:

• 1 cup honey
• 1  teaspoon cinnamon, for garnish
• ½ cup ground walnuts

Method:

Dough:

1. The night before, sift the flour into a bowl.
2. Create a hole in the flour. Add sugar, ouzo, pinch of salt and olive oil followed by the eggs.
3. With a fork mix the wet mixture and flour mixture together until just combined.
4. Once the mixture starts to form, use your hands to knead the dough for about 5 to 8 minutes until firm and soft.
5. Knead into a thick, log shape and cut into fist size pieces.
6. Wrap the dough pieces with glad wrap and set aside in the fridge for a night.
7. The next day, take one dough piece and roll it out until it is long and very thin. The longer the piece th e bigger the thiple.
8. Heat the oil in a deep pot. The oil will need to be poured to about 3 inches in depth. Throw a piece of dough in the pot and if it rises up, the oil is ready. Make sure the oil is simmering and not smoking hot.
9. Regarding the shape, there are two you can make. The beginner bow shaped thiples and the advanced traditional rolled thiples. For beginners, tie the strips of dough into knots to form bows and place in oil. For more advanced, place the dough sheet into the pot and using 2 large cooking forks quickly and gently roll the pastry sheet over in the warm oil until it makes a fold.
10. With both shapes, hold the pastry in the oil until it is golden. It takes about 1-2 minutes total.
11. Set the fried dough onto a tray lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
12. Allow them to cool completely.

Syrup and Decorating: 

1. Drizzle honey over and bows and rolled thiples. The honey will then give it an added colour and gloss.
2. Garnish with crushed walnuts and lots of ground cinnamon.
3. To keep the thiples crisp, do not add the syrup until just before you are ready to serve.
4. Enjoy!