If you’re new to Homemade Doughnuts then WELCOME.
You are just about to disover yet another one of those things that when you make them at home are WAY better than what you can buy. Hands down.
Once you have the dough and the technique under your fingers you are free to let your imagine go crackers with flavour combinations, creating delicious delights nobody has ever thought of before. Think of ANY dessert, seriously, and make it a doughnut. Here are three of mine that you may have seen on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch this morning.
Have fun!
Jack :-)
Base Doughnut Recipe
Let this be your foundation, basically a deep fried enriched bun dough… is there anything else to say?
Notes
This recipe will make 12 round or finger doughnuts, or 10 rings and 10 holes
You’ll need a deep fat fryer for MAXIMUM control or a deep pan and oil thermometer.
Difficulty: Easy to make, easy to shape, easy to fry
My Kitchen Temperature: 20°C/68°F
Start to finish: 3.5-4.5 hours
Ingredients
For the dough
180g Room temperature Milk
1 Medium Egg (50g)
45g Golden Caster Sugar
20g Fresh yeast or 10g dry yeast
375g Strong White Bread Flour
5g Salt
35g Soft Unsalted Butter
Method
Making the Dough
In a large mixing bowl whisk your milk, egg, sugar, and yeast together until the yeast is dissolved.
Next add the flour, and salt. Mix everything together with your dough scraper until it comes together into a dough with no particularly dry bits or wet bits, then, break up the butter and poke it into the dough with your fingertips.
Turn the dough out onto a clean table and knead your well for 8 minutes without dusting with any flour. Expect it to be slippery as the butter gets incorporated, use your dough scraper to help unstick yourself from time to time and clean up a bit and it will come together I promise.
After eight minutes shape your dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover with clingfilm and rest at room temperature for 90-120 minutes.
For Round Doughnuts
Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface, use the flat side of your dough scraper to divide it into 12 equal pieces (roughly 55g each) Roll them up into balls and line them up on a couple of oiled trays.
Brush some oil over the top and cover loosely with clingfilm.
For Finger Doughnuts
Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface, use the flat side of your dough scraper to divide it into 12 equal pieces (roughly 55g each) Roll them up into balls and line them up on a the kitchen side. Rest for 10 minutes.
One by one shape the balls into fingers by flippiing them over, flattening them and rolling them up swiss roll stylie. The roll with your palms to 12-15 cm. Arrange them over a couple of oiled trays.
Brush some oil over the top and cover loosely with clingfilm.
For Ring Doughnuts
Turn your dough out of the bowl upside down on the table. Fold it back up into a tight ball. Rest it on the kitchen side for 10-15 minutes to relax enough for the next part.
Dust lightly with flour and roll with a rolling pin to a circle around 25-30cm wide and 1.5cm thick.
Use an 8cm cutter to cut the rings and a 3cm cutter for the holes. The first roll should get you 8 rngs and holes. Mark them out with the cutters first before you cut.
Ball up the excess and rest for 5-10 mintes before re-rolling. Roll it out into an oven ad you’ll be able to cut the last two doughnuts out of it.
Line up your doughnuts and hole over a couple of oiled trays.
Brush some oil over the top and cover loosely with clingfilm.
Final Puff
Allow 60-90 minutes for your doughnuts to rest and puff up. When they are nearly ready get your deep fat frier or DEEP pan ready, half filled with oil, to 180C.
Frying
In batches you are comfortable with, fry your doughnuts first for 30 seconds each side, then a further 2 minutes each side for round and fingers or 1 minutes each side for rings.
Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
Fresh Fruit and Creme Patissier Finger Doughnuts
Creme patissier is the ultimate in Old Skool, it is among the FIRST things learnt at chef school and for good reason…
It’s wicked delicious, it’s so versatile, and it’s the base for MANY other tasty creations, the Peanut Butter Cream on this list being just one…
This doughnut celebrates the freshness of the fruit on top in the same way as a fruit tartlet in the window of a Parisian Pattisserie. Also creme patissier… I KNOW RIGHT!
Notes
This recipe makes 12 Fresh Fruit Fingers
Ingredients
12 Finger Doughnuts from above
Golden Caster Sugar for dusting
For the Creme Patissiere
250g Whole Milk
50g Golden Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
3 Medium Egg Yolks
25g Plain Flour
To finish
Fresh berries of your choice, I chose Strawberries, Raspberries and Blueberries.
Method
For the Creme Patissier
Put the egg yolks into a large bowl and whisk in half of the sugar and all of the flour.
Bring your milk to the boil in a large saucepan with the vanilla bean paste and remaining sugar.
Whisk half of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Then add the other half and mix that in too. Tip the entire mixture back into the pan, slowly bring back to the boil stirring all the time with a spatula, and cook for a couple of minutes until thickened.
Pour your crème pâtissier into a bowl and cover the surface with clingfilm to stop a skin from forming as it cools. Then, keep in the fridge until you are ready.
Bringing it all together
When your doughnuts are fresh from the fryer toss them in a large bowl of golden caster sugar, let them cool.
Cut them down the middle hotdog style.
Decoratively pipe a line of creme patissier down the middle and finish with your fresh berries.
Peanut Butter Cream and Chocolate Doughnut
For a while here in the studio I was toying with the idea of a Tiramisu doughnut for this one and then it hit me…
Peanut Butter.
Sorry coffee fans.
For this one our best friend the creme patissier returns. Make sure you choose a decent peanut butter, and one that is loose too to make mixing easier later. Good ones normally are anyway :-)
Notes
This recipe makes 12 Peanut Butter Cream Doughnuts
Ingredients
12 Round Doughnuts
For the Peanut Butter Cream
1/2 batch of creme patissier from the recipe above
150g Whipping Cream
35g Good peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
20g Icing Sugar
a pinch of salt
For the Ganache
50g Milk Chocolate Chips
50g Dark Chocolate Chips
100g Double Cream
To finish
60g Salted Peanuts, roughly chopped
Method
For the Peanut Butter Cream
Whip the cream with the icing sugar until thick and fluffy.
Mix the peanut butter together with the creme patissier.
Fold the cream into the creme patissier a third at a time. Taste and add a pinch of salt. Try not to eat it all…
For the Ganache
Heat the cream in a pan on a medium heat until it only just starts to bubble remove from the heat.
Put the chocolate into a large mixing bowl.
Pour the cream over the doughnut and whisk to melt into a smooth and glossy ganache. Try not to eat it all…
Bringing it all together
Make a hole in the side of each doughnut with a small knife or end of a spoon.
Pipe in some of your peanut cream, you’ll have enough for around 30g per doughnut so weigh them as you go if you want to get them BANG ON.
Dip the tops of each doughnut in the ganache, let them drip off a little and transfer to a wire rack, sprinkle some peanuts on the top.
Leave them to set if you can help it.
Lemon Iced Ring Doughnuts and holes
Sometimes simpler is better.
I said SOMETIMES.
This fresh, zingy, zesty soft ring doughnut is exactly that. No faff, no fuss, wicked tasty.
Notes
Makes 10 ring doughnuts and 10 holes
Ingredients
10 Ring doughnuts and holes
For the icing
480g Icing Sugar
80g Lemon Juice
To finish
Some thyme leaves and poppy seeds
Mix together your icing ingredients.
Dip each doughnut upside down into the icing, let drip off and transfer to a wire rack.
Decorate with some thyme leaves and poppy seeds as you go along.
Toss your holes in the icing and transfer to the rack too to decorate and set.