Doughnuts!

I've only ever deep fried churros and Camembert before, so it was very exciting to break the oil out again and try something new!

I tossed some of these in cinnamon and sugar and dipped some in a simple lemon glaze.  One of my favourite parts of making these was frying the doughnut holes - they started off as flat circles and puffed up to gorgeous spheres!

Recipe adapted from: Handle The Heat
Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (one packet)
50g white sugar
250mL milk
2 tbsp butter (28g)
1 egg
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
360g flour
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp salt

For frying - about 5 cups of oil (vegetable or peanut)

For dressing - white sugar and cinnamon or lemon juice and icing sugar

Method
1. Microwave the milk until it's lukewarm, then mix the milk with the yeast and about a tablespoon of the white sugar.

2. Let the yeast proof for a few minutes.  Melt the butter and set it aside.

3. Once the yeast as activated and started to foam up, mix the rest of the sugar, butter, egg, nutmeg, flour, vanilla and salt in with the yeast.  I used my KitchenAid with the dough hook attachment.

4. Knead the dough (or let the mixer run) for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft.

5. Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl.  Cover the bowl in cling wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1.5 - 2 hours.

6. Punch the dough down and tip it out onto a lightly floured surface.  The dough is so soft!

7. Roll the dough out to less than 1cm thick (1/4 inch), then cut doughnut shapes.  I just used a large circle cookie cutter and a smaller one.  I did some big doughnuts and some small; I recommend doing larger ones (about 9cm diameter).

8. Transfer the doughnuts to a baking tray covered in baking paper, spread them out, cover with a tea towel and let them rise for about an hour.

9. When you're ready to cook the doughnuts, heat your oil to 175C (350F) in a large wok or saucepan.  Prepare a plate or baking tray and cover it with paper towel to soak up excess oil.

10. Gently fry the doughnuts about 1 minute per side (for large 9cm doughnuts), until golden.  I use chopsticks to turn the doughnuts - tongs or a slotted spoon would work too.  The doughnut holes will take a shorter time.

11. Once done, lift the doughnuts out of the oil and place on the paper towel, turning to soak up all of the excess oil from both sides.

12. If you're dressing the doughnuts in cinnamon and sugar, it's best to coat them while the doughnuts are warm.

Another option is a simple lemon glaze, made by mixing icing sugar and lemon juice - if you're doing this, make sure that the doughnuts have cooled.

Enjoy!

Churros

Churros.  Delicious, golden sticks of friedness.  Dusted with icing sugar and dipped in chocolate.  What more can I say?

Recipe Adapted From: South China Morning Post Magazine 2006

Ingredients

100g butter

150mL water

1/8 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

130g plain flour

3 - 4 eggs

Heaps and heaps of canola oil.

Method

1. Melt butter, water and salt in a heavy based saucepan.  Heat until boiling.

2. Add flour all at once, and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and comes away from the sides of the pan.  Cook for a further 30 seconds, stirring continuously, then remove from heat.

3. Add 3 eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously to combine.  It will look like total mush just after you add it, but have faith and keep stirring!  Make sure each egg is completely combined before you add the next one.

4. Beat the last egg in a separate bowl and add gradually to the mixture until it is a thick sticky paste that forms a peak when you lift the spoon up.

5. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.

6. Heat your oil in a large pan (I use a wok).  It should be hot enough that the dough sizzles furiously when you add it to the oil.

7. Pipe lengths of dough into the oil.  Put the tip of the piping bag near the side of the pan and squeeze, then when the desired length of dough is in the oil use a knife to shear the flow of dough off at the piping bag.

8. Let the churros fry.  Turn them over a couple of times in the oil so that the whole thing is golden brown.  

9. When golden brown, remove the churros from the oil and place on a plate covered with paper towel.

10. Dredge with sugar and/or cinnamon, dip in chocolate or another sauce and eat while they're warm!

This recipe, when using a large star tip, creates a crunching on the outside and fluffy on the inside churro.  If you use a smaller star tip, then you should get a crunchier churro.

Here's a tip - for more churro goodness without having to buy more oil, after you've finished frying let the oil cool then tip into a glass jar or glass container.  You can store the oil for more churro use later!