Fritters in Syrup

Mesopotamian breads and desserts have, for a long time, been made into anatomical shapes, such as lips, a woman's breast or a heart. You can use your creativity.

Syrup:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange flower or rose water

Put water, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and boil for a few minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy. Remove syrup from heat and let cool. Stir in the orange flower or rose water. Reserve.

Fritters:
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
4 eggs
Vegetable oil

Heat water, butter and sugar in a small saucepan until butter melts and mixture starts to boil. Add flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture dries out a bit and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from the heat and add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously with each addition until batter becomes smooth and glossy. Add the next egg, and continue in the same manner until all 4 eggs have been added to the batter.

Pour about 2 inches of vegetable oil into a Dutch oven and heat until it reaches 375 degrees F on a candy thermometer. While the oil is heating, form the dough into small balls, about the size for hors d'oeuvres, dipping your hands in flour to help shape the dough. When oil is hot, fry 5 to 10 fritters at a time until they puff up and are nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. During cooking, turn the balls in the oil so that they brown uniformly on all sides.

As each batch of fritters comes out of the oil, drain them on paper towels, and immediately soak for 15 minutes in the reserved syrup. Serve in small bowls with a little of the syrup poured over each portion.

Makes 6 servings.