Homemade doughnuts

Get on board with the latest “cake” trend.

Cupcakes have long held reign in the baking and pastry world, but it’s time they moved over. The sugary treat on everyone’s lips this year is doughnuts.

This tasty homemade doughnut recipe is unbelievably simple and you’ll be sure to score a “hole in one” at any party.

Adapated from Rachel Allen’s Party Doughnuts recipe

Makes 24

Ingredients:

• 450 grams of plain white flour
• 3/4 teaspoon of salt
• 40 grams of cold butter
• 225 millilitres of milk, warmed (microwave or stovetop)
• 75 grams of white sugar
• 1 x 7-gram packet of dried fast-acting yeast
• 2 egg yolks (medium-sized eggs)

Directions:

1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Take your cold butter and either cut it into tiny cubes or grate it using the small grate holes and put it into bowl of flour and use the tips of your fingers to crumb the butter and flour together.
2. Add the yeast and sugar to the warm milk and stir to combine, add the egg yolks and whisk together.
3. Create a well in the middle of the flour and pour in almost all of the milk mixture (you will want about 1/4 cup of the mixture left behind, which can be discarded). Using a spoon or a dough hook in an electric mixer, bring the flour and milk mixture together.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently until you get a smooth dough that springs back after pushing your finger into the surface. Set it aside in a greased bowl, covered with clingfilm, for one hour.
5. Once it has doubled in size, punch the dough down and then roll it out on a floured surface to about 1-centimetre thick. Use a 5-centimetre round cutter to cut out the doughnuts.
6. Then pierce the centre of the dough discs with your finger and stretch out a hole gently (you can also try rotating two fingers inside to get the hole). Place it on a greased baking tray and rest for 30 minutes.
7. Heat some vegetable oil in a deep pot/saucepan or an electric deep fryer — test the oil is hot enough by placing a small round of dough and watching for bubbles or sizzles. Fry the doughnuts for 2–3 minutes or until golden.
8. Remove from the oil and toss them in cinnamon sugar or drain on a papertowel, let them cool and then glaze.

Fun glazes

• Use melted chocolate (dark or milk) 
• Add sprinkles, snakes or Smarties to choc-topped doughnuts
• Make a simple glaze from icing sugar, milk and water
• Use a lemon glaze by mixing icing sugar with the juice of a fresh lemon

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