OMG…..

I ate nothing but donuts this weekend.   Can you blame me?

I skipped breakfast and ate spoonfuls of passion fruit curd instead; I ignored the pot of chili and cornbread that was intended for lunch.

All defenses were in vain.   I just couldn’t stop eating.

I might or might not have had a few of these for breakfast…a few meaning 3.

I might or might not have sucked the remaining passion fruit curd from the pastry bag.

Don’t judge me.

I purchased a donut cutter 3 years ago and never used it, partly because I am fearful of the 3000 calories I would consume and partly because I have a fear of a large pot of hot bubbling oil.   It took me 3 years to just suck it up and get to work.  There’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that I was able to get away unscathed, not even a tiny miniscule drop of oil touched my skin.  Yay for me, super long spatulas and oven mitts to the elbow.

And the bad news?  Well I already gave you the bad news…I ate too many donuts to count.

These are the most perfect donuts ever!  I’m a yeast donut type of girl because I like the light fluffy donuts with the airy center that just melts as it hits my tongue.   I made two glazes, rosewater and vanilla and I had toasted coconut and finely ground pistachio for dipping.  I made passion fruit curd to use as a filling.   Why did I choose these flavors?  Because I almost always think of a way of making a recipe tropical, hence the use of coconut, rosewater and passion fruit.   Rosewater is typically an ingredient used in Indian cooking; it is mostly used in desserts.   This is to be used sparingly because it is very potent so a little goes a long way.

 

Make these and save a trip to the donut shop.  Oh, make sure you have a few friends over to help you consume the 2 dozen donuts that this recipe makes.  Or you can be like me and attempt to eat it by yourself.  I recommend the former.

Yeast Donuts

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

1 ½ cup lukewarm milk

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup shortening, room temperature

5 cups all purpose flour

1 quart vegetable oil for frying

In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water and let stand for 5 minutes.  Yeast will foam.

Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups of flour to yeast mixture.  Stir with a wooden spoon or mix in a stand up mixer using dough hook for a few minutes until combined.  Add remaining flour ½ cup at a time, mixing between each addition.   Knead for 5 minutes.

Place in a large greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled, about 40 minutes to an hour.

After dough had double, turn out onto a floured surface and roll to ½ inch thickness.  Cut donuts into desired shape.  Make sure to dip cutter in flour to prevent the dough from sticking.

Cover loosely with a cloth and let dough rise again until doubled, this should take about half an hour.

Heat oil to 350 degrees.  The fire should be about medium low, it shouldn’t be too hot or the donuts will burn before the inside is cooked.

Using a large spatula, slide donuts into oil, cook in small batches.  When one side is brown, flip the donuts to cook the other side.   When golden brown, remove from oil and place on a rack to drain.  Dip donuts in the glaze when still warm but not hot.

If adding a filling, using add filling to a pastry bag with a plain tip large enough for filling to pass through easily.   Press tip into one side of the donut and squeeze until donut is filled, about 2 tbsp of filling.

Glaze

1/3 cup butter

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp of hot water

2 tsp of rosewater

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Add 2 tablespoons of hot water and stir to combine.  Divide glaze in half and place into 2 separate bowls.   Add 2 teaspoon to one batch of the glaze.   I added a drop of food coloring to the rosewater frosting.

Passion Fruit Curd

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

4 egg yolks

¼ cup passion fruit juice

½ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

5 tbsp cold butter cut into small cubes.

Combine egg yolks, passion fruit juice and sugar in a sauce pan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 8-10 minutes until mixture thickens up and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and add salt and butter a few pieces at a time, stirring until butter is melted.  Mixture should be smooth.  Pass the mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Press the plastic wrap until it touches the surface of the curd; this prevents a skin from forming.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before using.