Pistachio doughnuts with rose water glaze

I adore fried food, but living in an apartment I rarely feel like frying things – I try to avoid having the whole house smelling like the dinner we’d just had. Up until a couple of months ago fries had been the exception because both the hubby and I love them, but after trying Annabel’s recipe for oven fries the problem was solved – Joao told me they were even tastier than the original fried version.

I did, however, had another exception days ago when I made Gourmet Traveller’s pistachio doughnuts – I’d been meaning to make them forever. The doughnuts turned out really good and being cake doughnuts (no yeast involved) it didn’t take me too long to make them from start to finish. The problem was the rose water glaze: disappointing and too sweet, it tasted of nothing but icing sugar even after I squeezed half a lemon in it. The raspberry syrup, prior to the addition of the icing sugar, was really delicious, so I suggest you make it up to that point and dunk your doughnuts in it. Another suggestion: after photographing and eating the first doughnuts, I fried the remaining batter like small churros (instead of piping it into rings) and liked them even more: they were easier to move around in the frying pan and turned out crispier on the outside.

Pistachio doughnuts with rose water glaze
slightly adapted from the always gorgeous Australian Gourmet Traveller

Doughnuts:
75g pistachio kernels
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, lightly beaten
vegetable oil, for deep frying

Rose water glaze:
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
10 raspberries, fresh or frozen (unthawed)
1 ½ cups (210g) icing sugar, sifted
3 teaspoons rose water, or to taste

Process pistachios in a food processor until finely ground, transfer to a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, vanilla extract and salt. Stir to combine, make a well in the centre, then add milk, butter and egg. Mix until smooth, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 2cm-fluted nozzle, refrigerate to rest for 1 hour.
For rosewater glaze, combine sugar and 50ml water in a small saucepan, stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, add raspberries, crush them with the back of a wooden spoon, then simmer until syrupy (2-3 minutes). Strain into a heatproof bowl (discard pulp), add icing sugar, whisk until smooth, then whisk in rose water and set aside (thin with a little water to drizzling consistency if necessary.)
Preheat oil in a deep-fryer or deep-sided saucepan to 180°C/350°F. Pipe 8cm-diameter rings onto squares of lightly oiled baking paper. Slide rings, in batches, into oil and cook, turning occasionally, until puffed, golden and cooked through (3-4 minutes; be careful as hot oil may spit). Drain on absorbent paper, then, while still warm, drizzle with rose water glaze and place on a cooling rack until glaze sets. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 18-20

Baked apple and maple doughnuts

One of the many things I loved about NY was the food: I ate wonderful things in several places, and brought home some great ingredients, too; I had many, many addresses on my list and unfortunately couldn’t go to all of them, and one of those places was the Doughnut Plant – my plan was to try their crème brûlée doughnut, but that will have to be done on my next trip to NY.
While that doesn’t happen, I made doughnuts at home – a very nice baked version I found in the glorious Gourmet Traveller.

Baked apple and maple doughnuts
from the beautiful Australian Gourmet Traveller

Dough:
5 1/3 cups (745g) all purpose flour
2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (145g) granulated sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons (7g) dried yeast
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm whole milk + a bit extra for brushing
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk*
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted

Apple-maple filling:
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and coarsely chopped
½ cup (120ml) maple syrup
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon
2 cinnamon quills

For assembling:
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar combined with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine flour, sugar and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix to combine. In another bowl, whisk together milk, buttermilk, eggs and butter. With motor running, add milk mixture and mix on medium speed until dough is smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes). Form into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place until double in size (1-1½ hours).
Meanwhile, for apple-maple filling, combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then cook over medium heat until apple is tender and liquid is syrupy (about 10 minutes), then cool completely.
Line two large baking sheets with foil.
Knock down dough, turn onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to 5mm thick. Using an 8cm-diameter cutter, cut 24rounds from dough (re-roll scraps if necessary). Place half the rounds 5cm (2in) apart on the prepared baking sheets and place a heaped teaspoon of apple-maple filling in centre of each (try to remove the excess syrup from each portion of filling before placing it onto the dough). Brush edges with milk, cover with the remaining dough rounds and press to seal edges well. Trim edges by cutting with a 7cm-diameter cutter. Cover with a tea towel and stand in a warm place until risen (1-1½ hours).
Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Brush doughnuts with milk then bake until bottoms are just golden (8-10 minutes). While the doughnuts are still hot, dip them in the melted butter, toss in the cinnamon sugar and serve with maple syrup and any leftover apple/syrup mixture.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe above, used 8cm and 7cm cutters and still got 12 doughnuts

Baked lemon ricotta doughnuts - all the deliciousness of doughnuts without frying

I love doughnuts – as do many of you, I believe – but the idea of frying them... Not so much. I’m not a fried food kind of cook – I love eating it, not making it. That is why I was quite taken by this recipe: the doughnuts are baked instead of fried and they turned out beautiful, very tender, absolutely delicious.
The filling is oh, so good – I ate several spoonfuls of it before actually assembling the doughnuts. And I’m not ashamed of that. :D

Baked lemon ricotta doughnuts
slightly adapted from the always beautiful and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

Dough:
5 1/3 cups (746g) all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
½ cup + 3 ½ tablespoons (142g) superfine sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons (7g /1 sachet) dried yeast
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm whole milk, plus extra for brushing
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk*
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Lemon ricotta filling:
250g ricotta
¼ cup (50g) superfine sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
1 large egg

To serve:
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) superfine sugar
finely grated zest of 1½ lemons

Start by making the dough: combine flour, sugar, yeast and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix to combine. Whisk together milk, buttermilk, eggs and the melted butter and, with motor running, add to flour mixture, then mix on medium speed until dough is smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes). Shape into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (1-1½ hours).
Meanwhile, for lemon ricotta filling, process ingredients in a food processor until smooth (1-2 minutes), transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (otherwise it will be too fluid).
Knock back dough, turn onto a lightly floured surface and roll to 5mm thick. Cut 48 rounds with a 7.5cm-diameter cutter (reroll scraps if necessary**). Place a heaped teaspoon of lemon ricotta filling in centre of 24 rounds. Brush edges with milk, cover with the remaining rounds, press to seal edges well. Trim with a 7cm-diameter cutter. Transfer to a large baking sheet, lined with baking paper, cover and stand in a warm place until risen (1-1½ hours), then bake until lightly golden (10-12 minutes).

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and set aside. Combine sugar and lemon zest in a bowl. Dip hot doughnuts immediately in the melted butter, toss in lemon sugar and serve hot.

* homemade buttermilk: place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk. Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

** I tried rerolling scraps, but dough became tough, it did not work; so I braided the scraps into several little breads

Makes about 24 doughnuts

Milk chocolate-filled cinnamon doughnuts

Still on the feasible side of promises and resolutions, I’ve been trying to make more yeasted recipes – because I always tell people I love working with yeast but taking a look at my blog that doesn’t sound very true.

I got this recipe here – the same magazine these buns came from – and highly recommend it: the doughnuts are tender, taste great and imho don’t necessarily need the chocolate filling.
Just need to warn you the recipe yields a lot – not a bad thing if you have a big family, but that is not my case. :)

Milk chocolate-filled cinnamon doughnuts
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

2 ¼ teaspoons (7g) dried yeast
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
¼ cup + ½ tablespoon (56g) caster sugar
5 cups + 1 tablespoon (710g) all purpose flour
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons (98g) unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
pinch of salt
100g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
milk, for brushing
vegetable oil, for frying
cinnamon sugar, for dusting

Combine yeast, buttermilk, sugar and ¼ cup (60ml) warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer and stand for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add flour, butter, eggs and a pinch of salt and mix using dough hook attachment. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth – I used the mixer for the whole process. Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat, cover with plastic wrap and stand for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll to 3mm thick. Using a 7.5cm (3in) round cutter dipped in flour, cut out rounds, re-roll dough and repeat. Divide milk chocolate among half the rounds, placing in center, brush edges with milk and top with remaining rounds. Using a 6.5cm (2 ½in) round cutter dipped in flour, trim rounds, pressing to seal. Place 2.5cm (1in) apart on a lightly floured tray and stand for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
Heat oil in a large deep saucepan or deep-fryer to 160°C/320°F. Deep-fry doughnuts, in batches, turning occasionally for 2-3 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Place over paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Roll in cinnamon sugar and serve immediately.

Serves 15 – I halved the recipe above and got 22 doughnuts