Name: Sfenz
Yield: Makes 10
Cuisine: Egyptian
Ingredients: 500 ml (18 fl oz) vegetable oil, for deep-frying; ¼ tsp orange-flower water; 410 g (14½ oz) caster sugar; ¼ tsp lemon juice; ¼ tsp vanilla extract; 150 ml (5 fl oz) water; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 20 g (¾ oz) caster sugar; 2 eggs, beaten; roughly grated zest of 1 orange; 160 g (5¾ oz) plain flour; 30 g (1¼ oz) ground almonds; ½ tsp baking powder

Preparation info

Makes
10

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

World's Best Cakes

By Roger Pizey

Published 2013

About

The very first doughnuts were most likely prepared by the ancient Egyptians, and Sfenz originate from their neighbours the Libyan Jews of North Africa. Deep-fried doughnuts, such as Sfenz, are often served as the traditional sweet treat during the Jewish festival of Hannukah.

Ingredients

For the dough

2 eggs, beaten
20 g (¾ oz) caster sugar

Method

Mix together all the ingredients for the dough (except the deep-frying oil) adding additional flour, if necessary.
Pull off balls of the dough and roll in the palm of your hand until about the size of a chestnut (roughly 30 g (1¼</