Easy Deep Fried Doughnuts

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There’s something about doughnuts that makes them the ultimate guilty pleasure – it could be something to do with the fact that they are deep fried and always coated in sugar!

Having the occasional weakness to a certain branded doughnut, I wanted to see if I could achieve a satisfying result at home with a simple, achievable recipe.

The only problem I encountered with this recipe was handling (or not handling!) the hot oil. So have fun attempting this recipe, you’ll be really happy with the result, just approach with caution!

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Recipe

Makes 8

Doughnut

210g Plain Flour
2.5 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
40g Unsalted Butter (melted)
100g Milk (semi-skimmed)
45g Caster Sugar
500ml Rapeseed Oil

Icing (optional)

360g Icing Sugar
65ml Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

D1

Method

Doughnuts

  • Place oil in a deep pan on a low-medium heat.
  • In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon, then set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, milk and egg until combined.
  • Go back to your flour mixture and make a well in the middle of the bowl. Pour your butter mixture into the well and mix until you have a smooth, thick dough.*
  • Your oil should now be boiling (temperature approx. 365 degrees celsius). A good way to test that your oil is hot enough is to place the end of a wooden spoon into the oil, if bubbles form around it, it’s hot enough.
  • On a floured surface, roll out your dough until approx. half an inch thick and cut out the ring shape with a doughnut cutter.
  • Very carefully, place the doughnut into the oil** and leave to fry for approx. 30-40 seconds. Flip the doughnut over and fry for another 30-40 seconds.
  • Doughnuts should be golden in colour and cooked throughout. Take out of the pan using a spatula and leave to cool on a wire rack.
  • Repeat this method with your remaining doughnuts.

*Ideally a dough hook works best to do this, but not to worry, you can do it by hand as well with a large spoon.

**To avoid splashing and burning myself, I usually place the doughnut on a heat-proof spatula and lower it into the oil carefully, rather than dropping it in.

Icing

  • Place your icing sugar in a large bowl, add the milk, vanilla and mix until you have a smooth, runny icing (colour if desired).
  • To avoid mess place a layer of baking paper under your cooling rack.
  • Take one of your doughnuts and dip one side into the icing bowl, so half of the doughnut is submerged in icing.
  • Place doughnut back on cooling rack (icing will drip down the side so your baking paper will come in handy here).
  • Repeat this method with your remaining doughnuts.
  • Feel free to decorate with sprinkles or pipe a design.

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