Seasonal Recipe – Fudge Doughnuts

These are a local favourite in Fife. Doughnuts have become very fashionable again in recent years, with hundreds of different flavours, toppings, shapes and sizes. For me, the fudge doughnut will always be the king of the doughnuts.
 

Fudge Doughnuts

Recipes:     Beignet Dough, Crème Patissier, Sea Salt Caramel, Caramel Fondant

Ingredients: Tempered Dark Chocolate

Equipment: Fryer, Piping Nossle,

 

 

Dough

500g          Strong flour , sifted

55g            caster sugar

10g            salt

125g          milk

100g          egg yolks

50g            whole egg

40g            yeast

5g              dark rum

100g          unsalted butter, cubed and softened

 

1. Place the flour, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Put the milk and the yeast in a small bowl and mix together. Place the eggs and egg yolks into a mixing bowl and add the milk and yeast mixture. Mix together and add the rum. Add all of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and begin to mix using a dough hook attachment. Continue mixing until the dough is smooth and elastic and comes away from the side of the bowl. Add in the butter and continue to mix until the mixture comes away from the side again. Put the dough into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for 1 hour.

 

 

Crème pâtissier

 

500g Milk

1 Vanilla pods

120g Egg yolks

100g Caster sugar

50g Flour

 

1. Put the milk and the vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to the boil. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Continue whisking until the mixture slightly thickens and turns light in colour, 2-3 minutes. Add the sifted flour and whisk again until smooth.
2. Pour half the infused milk into the mixing bowl and whisk again until there are no lumps. Pass this mixture through a fine sieve (strainer), then return the mixture back to the remaining milk in the pan. Continuously whisk the mixture until it comes to the boil, then reduce the temperature to a simmer. Continue to stir and cook for 5-6 minutes.
3. Take off the heat, Pour the pastry cream onto a shallow dish or tray, wrap with cling film (plastic wrap) and cool rapidly.

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Sea Salt Caramel

500g          Sugar

80g            Glucose

240g          UHT Cream

400g          Salted butter

1                Vanilla pod

 

1. Split and scrape the vanilla pod.
2. Cut the butter into cubes.
3. Boil the cream and vanilla.
4. In a hot pan, gradually add the sugar, cooking slowly to form an amber caramel.
5. Gradually add the warm cream. Mix well and remove from the stove.
6. Add the sea salted butter piece by piece.
7. Allow to cool.

 

 

Assemble

1. Prepare the sea salt caramel and crème patissier.
2. Remove the prepared dough from the fridge. Cut and weigh the dough into 30g pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, place onto a tray lined with silicone baking paper and allow to prove for 45minutes- 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
3. Prepare a tray lined with kitchen paper. Turn on the fryer and heat the oil to 170°C, once the beignets are fully proved, carefully place into the oil and cook for approximately 5 minutes on each side. Remove from the fryer and drain on the prepared tray to remove excess oil. Allow to cool.
4. Spoon the prepared crème patissier into a piping bag fitted with a plain nossle. Spoon the sea salt caramel into a piping bag and snip a small hole in the end. Fill each beignet with the crème patissier, approximately 10grams per beignet. Pipe 4g of sea salt caramel into each one.
5. Prepare the caramel fondant. Dip the tops of the beignets in the prepared fondant and allow to set for 5 minutes. Pipe lines of tempered chocolate on the tops of each doughnut to finish.