SERVES 8 doughnuts and 12 holes
Hot up the oil, we are deep frying for the first time at Claire Tansey’s Kitchen. Watch the full doughnut episode of the 20-Minute Cooking School here.
I’m not afraid of deep frying, but I do find it rather a pain. That said, homemade doughnuts are worth a fair deal of inconvenience. A few notes about the technique of deep-frying:
Use a big, deep, wide pot and only fill it halfway with canola oil. This should be about 3 inches of oil.
Use a candy/deep-fry thermometer. Clip it to the side of the pot before heating the oil, and make sure the tip of the thermometer doesn’t touch the bottom of the pot.
It takes way longer to heat the oil than you predict.
If the oil get too hot all of a sudden, add another glug of oil to cool it down.
Don’t crowd the oil with too many doughnuts at once.
Drain the doughnuts twice (once in the spider over the pot, and then again on a paper-towel lined plate).
Once you’re done frying, cool the oil to room temperature completely (overnight is good, just keep it covered), then strain it through a fine-mesh sieve and store it for another 2 – 3 uses.
Also, if you prefer a cinnamon-sugar-dusted doughnut, stir 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon into 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and toss the cooked (still warm) doughnuts about in that mixture.
Old-Fashioned Glazed Doughnuts
INGREDIENTS
1½ cups (225g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly-grated nutmeg
1 egg
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
¼ cup milk
Canola oil for frying
GLAZE:
1 cup (110g) icing sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
INSTRUCTIONS
Whisk flour with baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a small bowl.
In a large bowl whisk egg and sugar until combined. Whisk in 2 tablespoons canola oil. Stir in flour mixture until partially-combined then carefully stir in milk.
Add enough oil to a deep, wide Dutch oven to come up 3 inches. Heat over medium-high until 360F. Line a large baking sheet with 3 layers of paper towels. Stir the glaze ingredients together in a small, shallow bowl.
Lightly dust the counter with flour. Roll out the dough to about ½-inch thickness. Cut doughnuts with a 1 ½-inch round cutter or a 2½-inch cutter with a 1 ½-inch round hole. Gently add the rounds to hot oil and cook 2 to 3 min, flipping halfway through, until deeply golden on both sides. Transfer to a prepared baking sheet and cool 2 min then dip in glaze. Cool completely on a wire rack.
TIP: Doughnuts are delicious. That's really all I have to say. Oh, wait-- they're best on the day they are made, thereby thwarting those of us who prefer to make things in advance. Sorry (not sorry).
Click below for a printable version of this recipe.