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Good morning my friends, as I promise yesterday today I create an alternative melomakarona with chocolate, I can't describe you how delicious this is .But I can help you to create this at your home . So let’s start together

Ingredients

For the syrup:
380 grams of water
380 grams of sugar
100 grams of honey
1/2 orange
1 cinnamon stick

For the melomakarona:
250 ml olive oil
120 grams of sugar
1 orange
120 grams of orange juice
2 tbsp. cognac
80 grams of fine semolina
500 grams of flour for all uses
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tbsp. baking soda

For the overlay:
400 gr. couverture
100 gr. grated walnut kernels

Preparation

Prepare the syrup:
Heat the water and the granulated sugar in a saucepan to make the syrup. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add half the orange to the syrup and let it boil over medium heat. Add the cinnamon to flavor the syrup. When the syrup sets, without becoming thick, remove the orange and set it aside.
Add the honey, stir and set aside to come to room temperature.

We prepare the melomakarona:
Preheat the oven to 180oC in air.
In a large bowl, sift the all-purpose flour and semolina.
In a separate bowl, mix olive oil with sugar and the juice of the remaining orange. Add brandy and orange zest. Add baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix well with the wire, to bind the ingredients and become a thick mixture.
Add the flour-semolina mixture gradually. Stir with the whisk after each addition. When the mixture is tight enough and does not mix with the wire, we use our hands, putting on gloves first. The dough should be soft and pliable, without being too oily.
Shape with the melomakarona dough into medium balls. We place them one by one on the plate of the oven lined with oil glue. All melomakarona must be the same size to be cooked evenly and at the same time. Bake for about 20 minutes. Unbake the melomakarona as soon as they become golden.

While they are hot, dip them in the syrup that has cooled well. Immerse them for 10 seconds and place them on a grill, to drain the excess syrup. Follow the same procedure for the rest of the melomakarona.

Coat the melomakarona with chocolate:
Melt the couverture in a baking pan or in the microwave. Be careful not to burn! Dip the melomakarona one by one in the melted chocolate. Then place them on the grill. We can apply oil paste on the grill to remove them more easily when the chocolate has stabilized. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the melomakarona with grated walnut kernels. Leave them to cool in the fridge or out of the fridge until the chocolate has stabilized.

That’s all , enjoy now and merry Christmas

Stay safe and healthy my friends and take care of your people

My best wishes from Greece