Vanilla Glazed Doughnuts

Doughnuts, there's something so delicious about them and everyone has their personal preference; for me, personally, it has to be sugar cinnamon doughnuts or the classic vanilla glazed doughnut which I choose to make. And let me tell you that homemade doughnuts taste a thousand times better than shop bought. They smell fresh, once they've been fried they fill the whole house with the warming smell of doughnuts. And to make it even better I melted some chocolate to make as a chocolate dipping sauce to go with the doughnuts which I highly recommend you do to.

Making doughnuts is difficult? I wouldn't say so; in fact I find kneading the dough for a good 10 minutes quite therapeutic. And although you have to wait for the dough to rise a couple of times which makes it quite time consuming this is a good excuse to catch up on your favourite TV programs or read a book perhaps.

Vanilla Glazed Doughnuts: (Makes 14)

Ingredients:

3 tbsp dried active yeast

60g butter

335g strong white bread flour

3 egg yolks

1tsp vanilla extract

2tbsp granulated sugar

240ml milk warmed

Oil for frying

Method:

1.Combine the yeast, 180ml of the milk and 67g of the flour and leave to rest for 30 minutes in a warm place.

2.In a separate bowl whisk the rest of the yeast and milk with the vanilla, sugar and egg yolks until well combined.

3.Knead in the rest of the flour a little at a time until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl-cover with cling film or a towel and leave to rest in a warm place for an hour.

4.Put the dough onto a floured surface and roll until half an inch thick. Cut out circles using 3 inch cutters (I used a mug of this length.) Cut a hole in the center of these circles using a 1 inch cutter (I used the top of a water bottle.)  Re-roll and repeat, if there are any leftover scraps roll them into separate leftover balls.

5.Cover the doughnuts with cling film and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

6.Heat a 3 inch depth of oil in a deep heavy bottomed pan until it reaches 180 C.  Use a metal spatula to transfer 3 to 4 doughnuts into the frying pan. Fry for 2 -3 minutes until golden brown, flip over and fry the other side for a further 2-3 minutes.

7.Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain onto a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts and doughnut balls.

8.Leave to cool slightly and then glaze.

Vanilla Glaze:

Ingredients:

510g icing sugar

10 tbsp milk

2 ¼  vanilla extract

Method:

1.Stir all the ingredients together in a shallow dish.

2.Dunk the doughnut into the glaze, using a spoon to help. Remove the doughnut from the glaze using a chopstick or the end of a spoon. Place onto a sheet of baking paper and leave to dry. Repeat till all doughnuts are glazed.

If I could give you one piece of advise it would be to eat these doughnuts while warm and with melted chocolate. And be quick they wont last very long!