Apparently the doughnut craze hasn't hit hard in my neck of the woods- although we do have a few popping up here and there. Because I don't feel the need to drive half an hour to get one, I figure I can make my own. Can't be that hard right?
When starting from the beginning we think of the dough, there are a couple different choices. You can go classic yeast that has a light, airy, and sweet flavor. Or you could do a cake doughnut- more dense and heavier. Then you have the latest trend- the cronut. A heavenly hybrid of a croissant and a doughnut. Basically croissant dough fried up like a doughnut. Could there be anything more perfect?! In my best Mrs. Doubtfire voice: Dominique Ansel you wicked wicked man.
I have a doughnut tin at my disposal, however, I think I may try my hand at the cronut. TO quite Ms Swift... this could end in burning flames or paradise. Go big or go home right? Now that I had the type down, what shall I do to these flavor-wise? Nutella fo sho. Maple... and bacon?! Cheddar with a honey mustard glaze- thought I'd throw in a crazy one. Yes, I think those would be good choices. Let's do this!
The Doughnut:
-I used some all butter puff pastry (You could go all out and make your own puff pastry but giiiirl, ain't nobody got time for that. I'd like to one day, but for now, puff from the box is a perfectly lovely ingredient to work with!) The kind I have available to me has two sheets per box and each sheet is folded into thirds. If this is frozen, you want to thaw in the fridge the night before, or just keep it in the fridge until ready to use. Puff pastry can be kind of picky to work with. You want to put off taking it out of the fridge until the last minute- you want it to stay as cold as possible so that when it cooks all the butter can melt correctly and make some picked steam pockets. Please see below...
-You'll need a good pan for frying. I highly suggest a heavy bottomed enameled cast iron pot. This ensures the heat is distributed evenly and it's easy to clean!
-If you want to get technical, get a candy thermometer to make sure your temp stays where you want it to. If you don't have one, throw the oil on medium, let it heat up, and to test if it's ready, you can stick a wooden spoon in. If it starts to bubble up, you're oil is ready. You could test fry a piece of dough- if it sinks and stays down, the oil is still too cold. If it rises to the top the second it goes in- the oil is too hot. If it sinks and then slowly rises and starts to fry- you're in business! Added bonus of this method? You get a little treat : )
-Get some paper towels laid out so that the oil from the doughnuts has something to absorb into. No one like s a mouth full of oil!
Now that we have all the maintenance worked out- let's get down to business. Not, not to defeat the Huns, but to make some treats!
*Maple Bacon
This flavor combination is becoming a trendy one and I can see why- it's amazing, duh. Kind of breakfasty/dessert all in one. For this one I just chopped up some bacon and crisped it up. Let it drain on a paper towel and set it aside to cool. For the glaze I just took a few tablespoons of powdered sugar with a table spoon of maple syrup. It's going to be very thick- thin it out with a drop or two of milk and it will be a nice thin glaze. If it becomes too thin, throw a couple pinches of powdered sugar and mix. If it gets too thick- add another drop of milk. Just don't keep doing this until you have a galon of glaze. What will you do with all that?! Nothing, that's what. After the doughnuts are just cooled enough to be handled, dip the top in the glaze. Let it dry for a few minutes and double dunk that thing. If you're feeling frisky... triple dunk. While the glaze is still wet, put some bacon on top and bam. Amazing. Another fun thing to do with maple and bacon is cupcakes! I've done chocolate cupcakes with a maple frosting topped with bacon. They were gone in a second.
*Cheddar with Honey Mustard Glaze
-If you want to get technical, get a candy thermometer to make sure your temp stays where you want it to. If you don't have one, throw the oil on medium, let it heat up, and to test if it's ready, you can stick a wooden spoon in. If it starts to bubble up, you're oil is ready. You could test fry a piece of dough- if it sinks and stays down, the oil is still too cold. If it rises to the top the second it goes in- the oil is too hot. If it sinks and then slowly rises and starts to fry- you're in business! Added bonus of this method? You get a little treat : )
-Get some paper towels laid out so that the oil from the doughnuts has something to absorb into. No one like s a mouth full of oil!
Now that we have all the maintenance worked out- let's get down to business. Not, not to defeat the Huns, but to make some treats!
*Maple Bacon
This flavor combination is becoming a trendy one and I can see why- it's amazing, duh. Kind of breakfasty/dessert all in one. For this one I just chopped up some bacon and crisped it up. Let it drain on a paper towel and set it aside to cool. For the glaze I just took a few tablespoons of powdered sugar with a table spoon of maple syrup. It's going to be very thick- thin it out with a drop or two of milk and it will be a nice thin glaze. If it becomes too thin, throw a couple pinches of powdered sugar and mix. If it gets too thick- add another drop of milk. Just don't keep doing this until you have a galon of glaze. What will you do with all that?! Nothing, that's what. After the doughnuts are just cooled enough to be handled, dip the top in the glaze. Let it dry for a few minutes and double dunk that thing. If you're feeling frisky... triple dunk. While the glaze is still wet, put some bacon on top and bam. Amazing. Another fun thing to do with maple and bacon is cupcakes! I've done chocolate cupcakes with a maple frosting topped with bacon. They were gone in a second.
*Nutella
Nutella is so amazing you can put it on pretty much anything and it will just be insane. I decided to make it a bit better with a little peanut butter. Two tablespoons of Nutella and one tablespoon of peanut butter. Toss it in the microwave for 20 seconds to get it nice and thin for dipping. Mix it up and dip the doughnut right in there. Make sure to get every nook and cranny. It's sooooo good. You can dip this one or drizzle the mixture on top- it's all good.
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| Playing with my food. |
Yes, I admit, this is weird sounding. I stumbled across this one while looking through some other food blogs.
www.joythebaker.com
I'm a fan of cheddar and I'm a fan of honey mustard sooooo why not?! For the doughnut I started with the dough and rolled it pretty thin. I placed some slices of cheese and folded the layers onto each other. Rolled it flat again to adhere the layers. When this one cooks, the cheese will ooze a little from the insides. Not the most horrible thing that could happen. For the glaze I mixed a table spoon of honey with a half tablespoon of dijon mustard. Dunk those babies in the glaze and set to dry. These actually tasted pretty good. I think next time I'll use yellow or whole grain mustard, but it was still really good! And the cheese gives it a really nice savory flavor! I bet these would be scrumptious with monterey jack cheese or gruyere! Ohhh I can taste it now. YUM.
BONUS
* Cinnamon Sugar!
Easiest doughnut you could probably make. I had some extra dough so I mixed a couple table spoons of white granulated sugar with a couple dashes of cinnamon. Get your Bob Marley on and stir it up, little darlin. Toss the doughnuts right from the oil into the sugar. Shake it around to coat. Done. What did I tell you- easy street.
These are only a few of the many combinations you can do up! This method gives you a lighter doughnut and the layers are just so good! The butter in the dough just puffs up and so many little air pockets appear. Just amazing.
Look how pretty they are! Just waiting to be gobbled up. And I may have had one... or three already. I told my roommate he can taste test when he gets home, lets hope there are some left!
I think I have to go cook a burger or something to get my mind off the sweets. Off to the grill!
-Meaghan
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