Posted March 1, 2013 by Sam in Recipes

Doughnuts & Vanilla Cream

The lovely Hani http://www.hanielas.com/ recently asked if I would join her making doughnuts, errrm well let me see…..of course! Love her, love doughnuts it’s a no brainer!

So here are my sweet offerings. My two love jam but I thought I’d try something a bit different inside, actually this is total heaven and I’d have been happy just scoffing that!

The doughnut bit

240g strong white flour

25g granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp fast acting dried yeast

25g soft butter cut into small bits

45ml warm water

70ml milk

1 size small beaten egg (or about half a large one)

You’ll also need:

Oil for frying in either a deep fat fryer or a saucepan

Some caster/icing sugar to coat them after frying

The vanilla cream bit

45g caster sugar

25g cornflour

100ml milk

1 egg yolk

25g soft butter cut in to small bits

1 tsp vanilla bean extract

85ml double cream

Makes 8

Making the vanilla cream bit

Place in a small saucepan the cornflour, caster sugar & milk, whish together over a low/medium heat until smooth. Add the egg yolk and butter and continue to whisk. Increase the heat slightly and continue whisking so that the mixture stays smooth as it thickens. It will thicken right up to a stiff paste. Remove from the heat and tip into a bowl. Cover over with clingfilm so that a skin doesn’t form and allow to cool completely.

Once cool place in a large bowl or the bowl to your mixer. Add the cream and vanilla bean paste and beat for several minutes on high (you can beat by hand but it’s rather exhausting!) you are looking for a light smooth consistency stop when it reaches this. Place in a container until you are ready for the filling. Can be kept in the fridge for a few days.

Making the doughnut bit

In a large bowl or the bowl to your mixer place all the doughnut ingredients. Mix together either by hand or with the dough attachment. Then either knead by hand for 5-10 minutes until all elastic and smooth or use the mixer for about 5 minutes to achieve the same. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise until about doubled in size (1-2 hours). Take the dough out from the bowl and knock it back (knock the air out) then shape into 8 equal sized balls and place on a lined/greased baking tray. Cover with oiled clingfilm and place in a warm place again for about an hour until double in size.

Heat the oil until it reaches about 180°C (I used a sugar thermometer) and then fry in batches until a very deep golden colour, making sure you turn them over so they cook evenly. Remove from the oil and dunk in a bowl of caster or icing sugar.

First doughnut ready!

I filled mine using the jam/filling nozzle in a piping bag loaded with the vanilla cream, I waited until they had cooled slightly but they were still a little warm. Enjoy straight away!