Christmas holidays undoubtedly smell like melomakarona! Few can resist this unique dessert, which is why our favorite Nutritionist Alexandra Kontodimou (nutrition_home) made for us the most enjoyable recipe using stevia and dark chocolate!
A few words about melomakarona…
Melomakarona is definitely the most nutritious dessert choice that one can make at the festive table. Walnuts increase the nutritional value of this sweet, because of the Ω-3 fatty acids they contain, while cinnamon has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial action and also helps regulate blood sugar.
If we now replace honey with stevia, we can achieve a sweeter result with fewer calories and lower glycemic index, which can be consumed by those who monitor their diet or suffer from diabetes.
So let's see the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 650 g Flour
- 2 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 kg of baking soda
- 1 1/2 Glasses of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp liquid Freevia stevia
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- zest of 1 orange
- 1/4 kg clove powder
- 1-2 kg cinnamon
- 4 tbsp brandy
- 2 tbsp. grated walnuts
For the overlay:
- 400 g Couverture
- 5 tbsp grated walnut kernels
Implementation:
- In a large bowl, add the flour, spices, and all the other solid ingredients of the dough.
- Add the olive oil, mix the soda with the juice, add them to the mixture and mix well.
- Once it is homogenized, shape the melomakarona evenly.
- Bake at 180 ° C for about 30 minutes.
- As the melomakarona are cooked, we prepare the syrup.
- Pour all the ingredients in a saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes.
- Once our melomakarona are ready, pour them into the warm syrup and leave them for 15-20 minutes to absorb the syrup.
- Leave the melomakarona on a plate to suck the syrup and then prepare the bain marie for the coating.
- Place a metal bowl in a pot of water to melt the couverture without burning.
- Dip the melomakarona one by one and with a fork place them in oil paste.
- Sprinkle with walnut kernels while the chocolate is hot.
Enjoy!
Alexandra Kontodimou
Dietitian-Nutritionist MSc
Nutrition Home, 71 Tsimiski, Thessaloniki
www.nutritionhome.gr