The Things that Confine Sweetness

Post date: Feb 19, 2018 3:20:40 PM

-- By Bombulina Tastyspoon --

Halwakhâfad (literally: the things that confine sweetness) are a dwarvish fried sweet dessert food popular amongst the Longbeards made from enriched yeast dough. They are a traditional treat, prepared and eaten round Durin’s Day, though they can be bought at one of the numerous halwakhâfad stands in the halls of Erebor (and other Longbeard halls) from Durin’s Day till around the second winter month.

Halwakhâfad can be made plain or raisins and apple can be added to the dough. Both usually get dusted with some icing sugar before serving. Some people also add cherries. Also, a halwakhfad can be filled after baking with whipped cream, jelly, custard or pastry cream. The sweetness comes from the icing sugar and/or fillings, since the dough itself is not very sweet.

For me, and most of the dwarves born in the Blue Mountains baking halwakhâfad on Durin’s Day Eve is a matter of honouring an old tradition and cherishing old style food. When I was younger, I helped my grandmother when she baked the halwakhâfad at our mansion. We always made two batches, one plain and one with raisins. And the first ones always came fresh out from the oil perfectly in time for lunch. Halwakhâfad are the most delicious just recently baked. They stay tasty for 1-2 days and can be warmed up later, but freshly baked is just unbeatable.

Then, when later I started to visit family up north round Durin’s Day, I started baking them with my cousin from the Iron Hills. He also had a lot of experience making halwakhâfad, so I went along with his Iron Hills recipe containing raisins and apple, and completely loved it. At first we made large batches at the hall he was living in, sharing them with some of the miners nearby, who ate our whole basket in mere minutes!

Nowadays, every time I visit round Durin’s Day we just bake for ourselves, in his rather small kitchen, in his little dwelling, but we keep honouring the tradition of baking halwakhâfad on Durin’s Day Eve. Though Durin’s Day has come and gone you can still find some halwakhâfad stands around the halls, just follow your nose and look out for the long lines!

Ingredients

• 400 g of flour

• 2 tsp of salt

• 20 g of fresh yeast

• 300 ml milk (hand warm)

• 1 tbsp of sugar

• 2 eggs

• 200 g of raisins (soaked, washed and dried)

• 1 big apple (peeled, cored and chopped into small cubes)

• fat for frying

  • icing sugar

Instructions

Mix the flour, salt and sugar.

• • Add the eggs and the yeast-milk mixture to the flour.

  • Use a wooden spoon, whisk (needs to be a sturdy one) everything together.

  • Keep mixing for about 10 minutes.

  • Mix the raisins and apple through.

  • Cover the bowl and leave to rise for about 1 hour.

  • Heat the fat in a suitable pan to 170C°.

  • Form spheres from the risen batter with 2 spoons, or an ice cream scoop, dipped in the hot fat and let them slide into the hot fat.

  • Bake them until brown, for about 4-6 minutes. When the temperature of the fat is just right, the halwakhâfad will turn their selves over when the first side has browned enough.

  • Take the halwakhâfad from the fat with a slotted spoon, place them in a colander to get rid of most of the fat, then place them in another colander layered with paper ((kitchen paper towels)). Use more of them between the layers. This will absorb the remaining fat.

  • Use the same method to bake the rest of the dough.

· Eat hot, cold or reheated and dusted with sugar.