One of the first places I head to upon arriving at JFK is the Dunkin stand, for coffee, and yes, especially for one of these sugary dough bombs. It’s the perfect pick-me-up and doughnuts are one of my guilty pleasures. Food markets push out hundreds of these irresistible confections daily in a variety of flavours, and if you get them fresh, they are hard to resist.
Gone are the days of greasy, stale-tasting doughnuts. Now you can choose flavours from mocha, coconut, sorrel-glazed, passion fruit, to name a few. Bakers throw tradition to the wind when they create their myriad of flavours. The choice is dizzying and the taste, let’s just say it can make one weak at the knees.
Here are some simple recipes to get you enjoying great home-made doughnuts again.
BAKED CHOCOLATE DOUGHNUTS
21/2 cups all -purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs instant yeast
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped bitter-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup milk
2 tbs butter
1 egg lightly beaten
Glaze
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbs milk
Mix sugar with milk and whisk until smooth.
Add a little more water if needed, 1/2 tsp at a time.
Method
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast and cinnamon.
Gently melt chocolate over a pan of simmering water, stir in butter and milk. Remove from heat and add egg.
Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir well to form a wet batter. Add as much of the remaining flour as you can to make a very soft dough.
Cover and let rise until doubled in volume (45-50 minutes).
On a well-floured board, press dough with your hands to about 1/2-inch thickness.
Stamp out doughnuts with a 3-inch cutter.
Place on a greased baking tray and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F
Bake doughnuts for 10 to 15 minutes until golden.
Remove and spoon glaze over warm doughnuts.
Makes about 12
MINI JAM DOUGHNUTS
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup thin yoghurt or buttermilk
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
Coconut oil or vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup jam for filling
1 cup icing sugar for dusting doughnuts.
Method
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until light. Add eggs and beat well. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat well.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir well.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan to 365 to 375F
Drop doughnuts by teaspoonfuls into hot oil. Do not crowd pan.
Fry for about 2 minutes per side and turn over.
Remove and drain on paper towels.
Have a piping bag ready with a #12 decorating tip, filled with jam.
Insert tip into each doughnut and fill with a little jam.
Dust with icing sugar.
Makes about 24
COCONUT-LIME CAKE DOUGHNUTS
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp grated lime zest
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla essence
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
Coconut oil for frying
1/2 cup desiccated coconut for garnish
Glaze
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbs lime juice
Mix sugar with juice whisk until smooth.
Add a little more water if needed, 1/2 tsp. at a time.
Method
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, lime zest and coconut.
In another mixing bowl combine eggs, 2/3 cups sugar, and vanilla. Beat until light and thick.
Combine milk and butter.
Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to sugar mixture. Beat just until blended after each addition.
Cover and chill for 2 hours.
Lightly flour your work surface and roll doughnut dough to 1/2-inch thickness.
Cut with floured 21/2-inch doughnut cutter.
Heat oil in deep pan and fry doughnuts for about one minute per side or until golden, turning once.
Remove and drain on paper towels.
Drizzle with lime glaze and sprinkle with coconut
Makes 16 doughnuts.
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
