Today, on the 9th of march the „Mucenici” - a Christian feast of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste is celebrated. On this day every year a typical dessert with the same name „Mucenici” is baked. The dessert is made in the shape of an 8 to look like garlands.
The recipe is different from region to region. In Moldova, the dough is baked and then smeared with honey and walnuts. In Muntenia and Dobrogea, the dough is smaller and cooked in water with sugar, cinnamon and crushed nuts, symbolizing the lake where the Martyrs were cast.
I am originally from Transylvania, and we do not celebrate this day. So we do not have this dessert. The first time I ate the “Mucenici” it was in Bucharest and they tasted really good. So I decided to bake them this year. I have decided for the Moldavian variant, and now I share the recipe with you.
You need (for 4 servings):
For the dough:
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For the syrup
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And we also need:
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500
g flour
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200
ml water
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1
egg york
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125
ml warm water
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100
g sugar
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50
ml milk
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125
ml warm milk
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1
tsp vanilla sugar
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1
handful finely chopped walnuts
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150
g sugar
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1
tbsp vanilla-extract
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honey
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80
g butter
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grated
zest from on lemon
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1
egg
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1
tsp salt
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1
package (7g) dry yeast
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How do we proceed?
Place
the flour in a large bowl, make a well in the center and add all the other
ingredients Knead to smooth, non-sticky dough. I first used the dough hook of
the mixer, and then I kneaded the dough for another 5-10 minutes with my hands.
If the dough is too sticky, add 1-2 tbsp flour. Cover the batter and allow to
rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Divide the dough to equally sized balls (they should have between 55-65 g). Form from each ball ~ 50 cm long , pencil-thin sticks. Weave the sticks and form a circle. From the circle an 8 shape. Place on a lined with baking paper sheet.
Mix egg yolk with milk and mop the "Mucenici" with this mixture. Bake them in the preheated oven at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
In the meantime, boil a syrup from water, sugar, vanilla sugar, vanilla essence and lemon zest. Remove from heat and let cool. Brush the "Mucenici" with the syrup, then with honey and garnish with walnuts. Serve warm or cold.
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