Doughnuts are an all time favourite with everyone, no matter the age, you know someone who will dive in first. Homemade is always the best; you can decorate and fill them up with anything you like if you are feeling fancy with Creme Patisserie which is a rich, creamy custard and super yummy. Strawberry and cream, chocolate fudge icing, lemon curd and fresh cream. What you fill them with is entirely up to you, the bolder, the better. Then it comes to decorating; you can leave them unadorned with pure sugar and icing, or depending on the filling inside, a plain icing with freeze-dried strawberries, or chocolate fudge with sprinkles all over, or why not push the boat out and go for a galaxy look with edible stars and glitter. Insta worthy and decadently delicious!
Tips:
The dough is best made a day before, this allows proving time.
This recipe makes 30 doughnuts.
Ingredients:
- 750g plain flour or 50% plain bread flour + 50% plain white flour
- 115g caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 medium eggs - room temperature
- 25g fresh yeast - crumbled (if you cannot get this, the powder version is fine, just melt in warm water)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (the good stuff or you can use a vanilla pod)
- 225ml whole milk
- 185g unsalted butter - softened at room temperature and cut into pieces (can also be placed in a microwave for 20 seconds)
- 2000ml vegetable oil for deep frying.
- 100g caster sugar for tossing the doughnuts in
Method: The day before frying the doughnuts:
1. You will need a standing mixer for this. Put all the ingredients in the mixer with a dough hook attachment. Beat for approximately 20 minutes or until you can see the dough is smooth and elastic in texture. If you have time, best to mix all the ingredients together first and then add the butter about 10 minutes later. It just gives it even better results.
2. Divide the dough into two parts. Cling film each section and put in the refrigerator overnight or in a warm place.
The next day:
1. Remove the dough from the cling film and tip on a floured surface.
2. Dust two baking sheets with lots of flour, literally cover the tray in it.
3. Roll the dough out and cut using a round cookie cutter. Each round should be at least 50g. Place the rounds on the trays and cover with a clean cloth. Let it prove for 4 hours till it has doubled in size.
4. Prepare your pan for frying, best to use a deep fryer. Heat the oil to 180c, or put a little dough in the oil to test.
5. Fry the doughnuts, two at a time. Be careful not to deflate them. You don't want to lose all that time of proving. Remove from the pan/fryer with a slotted pan and place on a plate with a paper towel.
6. Toss the doughnuts in the sugar and leave aside.
7. With a knife, create a hole on the side of the doughnut and pipe in your desired filling.
8. You can add sprinkles to the top.
9. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat.
Crème Pâtissièrie
Decadently smooth melts in your mouth like velvet and absolute bliss. Vanilla pods are best used for this. It's so easy to make and goes well with anything. It's quintessential in pastry, so if that is what you are interested in, then you must learn this first. It's required in Millefeuille, Devonshire buns, eclairs, creme bavarois, profiteroles, tarts, in fillings and chocolate pudding.
Ingredients:
- 500ml whole milk
- 1 vanilla pod - scrape the seeds and put the pod in the milk (this helps to achieve a stronger vanilla flavour)
- 85g caster sugar
- 4 tbsp corn starch
- 6 large egg yolks
- 45g unsalted butter - chilled and cut into cubes
Method:
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the milk, seeds and the vanilla pod. Stir the milk until it's hot, make sure it's not boiling over.
2. In a bowl combine the corn starch with the egg yolks. Whisk till you reach ribbon consistency - when the mixture becomes a pale yellow and thick, and forms a ribbon when dropped from the whisk. An easy way to test is to draw a figure 8 in the bowl. If you can see the number 8 for 10 seconds or more, the mixture is ready.
3. As you slowly continue on whisking, add 1/3 of the milk into the mix to temper the eggs. Be sure to carry on whisking, you do not want scrambled eggs.
4. Add in the rest of the milk and continue whisking. Transfer the mixture into the pan and over medium heat. Whisk vigorously, you will notice it will become thick.
5. Remove the pan from the heat.
6. Sieve the mixture into a bowl. This will remove the lumps, which will leave you with a smooth consistency. Whisk in the butter. It will easily melt.
7. With a marise/silicone spatula, spread the creme patissiere on a baking tray. Smooth out, creating a thin layer.
8. Place a layer of cling film directly over the creme patissiere and allow to cool at room temperature. Once cool, place in the refrigerator for a few hours.
9. When you are ready to use, remove from the fridge and gently whisk. This can be done by hand, or in a standing mixer with an electric hand whisk.
10. You are now ready to fill :)
You can decorate the doughnuts as you wish, a simple icing goes a long way. Icing sugar and water is all you need and dip the tops. Or you can add fruit powders or freeze-dried strawberries/raspberries and sprinkles.
To make a funky galaxy glaze:
Ingredients:
- Purple gel paste
- Navy blue gel paste
- Electric pink gel paste
- Super black gel paste
- 250g Icing sugar
- 60ml milk plus an extra 3 tbsp
Method:
1. Combine icing sugar and milk together in a bowl and stir until smooth. The glaze should flow in a ribbon. If you think its too dry, you can add a little bit.
2. Make sure the bowl is big enough to dip the doughnut in. In each bowl, combine 1 drop of food colouring, stir well to distribute the colours. Be sure to keep some white.
3. Scoop a little glaze from each bowl into a flat bottom bowl, create colourful streaks by roughly mixing the glaze with a wooden skewer. Dip the doughnut into the glaze and glide the doughnut back up.
4. Place the glazed doughnuts on a wired rack.
Enjoy your doughnuts on their own, with a cuppa or with a scoop of ice cream.
