How to win friends and influence people? Make them these doughnuts. It’s certainly done me well up until now. I serve these filled doughnuts with ever-changing flavours at my foodie Pop-Ups and they always go down an absolute treat. This here is for everybody who has eaten my doughnuts and asked for the recipe.
Enriched dough that has been deep-fried, rolled in sugar and then filled with deliciousness…that right there is a recipe for big grins. These are best served warm and I’d recommend making a double batch if you want to gain “top-neighbour-with-delicious-baked-goods” award. These doughnuts require time and patience, especially if you are making your fillings from scratch. I’ve included links to my favourite fillings which I’m sure will grow more expansive as I experiment with more and more flavours. You will certainly be rewarded and will probably come back to this recipe time and time again.
Doughnut Dough
Course: Bread, Cakes & Biscuits, DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium10
servings1
hour60
minutesCheck out my doughnut filling recipes to experiment with new doughnut flavours.
Ingredients
1 1/4 tsp dried yeast
225 ml warm milk
250 g caster sugar (50g for dough, the rest for dusting)
450 g strong white bread flour
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla essence
25 g butter, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1 l vegetable oil, for frying
360 g filling – jam, custard, curd etc
Directions
- Warm the milk gently on the hob or in a microwave till it is around body temperature. Add the yeast and 50g sugar to slightly warm milk, stir and leave in a warm place until the mixture begins to foam.
- Mix the flour, salt egg and vanilla into a food mixer and with the dough hook attachment then add the foamed yeast mixture. Mix until a soft dough forms. You can do this with a mixture, just mix with a fork and then use your hands at the end to bring the dough together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until it is strengthened and bounces back. You might need a little longer if you mixed it initially by hand.
- Place the dough in a large, lightly greased container. Spread the thinly sliced butter onto of the dough then cover with a damp tea towel or clingfilm to prove in a warm place until it has doubled in size.
- Separate the dough into evenly sized balls, around 50g each then knead and roll into smooth, round balls.
- Place on a baking tray line with baking paper with plenty of room between them. Cover loosely with greased clingfilm and leave in a warm place for their second prove.
- Once the balls have doubled in size, they are ready to fry. Heat a deep fat fryer to 190°C and very carefully lift them from the baking sheet and place into the fryer, two at a time. Do this as gently as possible to keep the doughnuts as airy as possible. You could do this in a deep frying pan with plenty of oil, just bear in mind that the temperature of the oil will drop more as it is more exposed.
- Once the underside is golden, turn them over gently and continue to fry until golden brown all over.
- Remove the doughnuts from the fryer, craning the oil as you do so then roll the doughnuts in caster sugar until completely coated. Leave to cool on a rack.
- Continue with the renaming doughnuts. Once cooled, poke a whole into the side of each doughnut using a knife or chopstick then pipe your filling of choice into the hole. Check out my favourite doughnut fillings below.
Fill Me In…
Experiment with new and different doughnut fillings. Here are some of my favourites.
Mango & Lime Curd
A tropical twist on the more traditional lemon curd – makes a good filling in a layer cake, in a pie or on toast.
Pistachio Crème Pâtissière
Pistachio ice cream is my favourite – it’s no surprise that is one of my filling flavours for my doughnuts.
Damson & Star Anise Jam
This is a great way to preserve the taste of early Autumn for months to come.
Apricot & Vanilla Bean Jam
This is everything that’s good about French jam – not too set, definitely not too sweet and the perfect accompaniment for good bread.
