Sugared Flowered Doughnuts Food

CANDIED FLOWER DONUTS

Steps:

• To prepare the edible flowers, apply sugar & egg white mixture gently on the edible flowers using a small brush.
• Sprinkle sugar over the flowers.
• Bake at 170F for 1 hour.
• To make donuts, whisk, egg, milk, vanilla, and sugar.
• Add flour.
• Zest in some lemon, add poppy seeds and mix with a spatula.
• Add melted butter, mix well.
• Pipe the donut batter into donut molds.
• Bake 350F for 15mins.
• To make donut icing, stir powdered sugar and lemon juice together.
• Dip the baked and cooled donuts, one by one, face down into the icing.
• Immediately place the candied edible flowers on top of the icing in any arrangement you wish.

SUGARED-FLOWERED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Flowers: Whisk egg white with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Working with one flower at a time, holding it with tweezers or in your fingers and using a small paintbrush, brush egg wash over surface of petals. Sprinkle evenly with superfine sugar. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet, sugared-sides up. Let stand at room temperature 12 hours.
• Doughnuts: Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly brush two standard 6-mold doughnut pans with butter. Beat butter with both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, orange zest, and almond extract; beat on medium speed to combine, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low; add flour in two batches, alternating with milk. Beat just until combined.
• Transfer batter to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag with a 1/2-inch hole snipped in one corner. Pipe mixture into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bang pans several times on counter to release air bubbles. Bake until doughnut tops spring back when lightly pressed, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Glaze: In a bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, orange-blossom water, and 1/4 cup water until glaze is thick and smooth and has the consistency of honey, adding more water as needed. Dip top of each doughnut in glaze (each should be halfway submerged), rotating to evenly coat. Transfer to wire rack, glaze-sides up. Top with sugared flowers while still wet; let dry completely.

SUGARED FLOWERS

Steps:

• Whisk egg white with water in a small bowl. Working with 1 flower at a time and holding it with tweezers, brush egg wash over entire surface of flower using a small paintbrush. Sprinkle with sugar. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment to crisp flowers. Let stand at room temperature overnight. Sugared flowers can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 3 months.

HOMEMADE GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• For the doughnuts: Add the granulated sugar to the warm milk in a medium bowl, and then add the yeast. Allow it to sit until the yeast starts to bubble, 5 to 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, beat the eggs and then pour them into a bowl with the melted butter, whisking constantly. Add the butter/egg mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer. Pour in the milk/sugar/yeast mixture. With the hook attachment, turn the mixer to low speed.
• Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, and then retrieve 1/2 cup at a time and add it to the mixing bowl, allowing it to slowly incorporate into the liquid mixture.
• Continue mixing for 5 minutes after the flour is combined. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl and then mix about 30 seconds more. Then place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 to 12 hours.
• The next morning, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature and rise, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Put the dough in a warm spot, if necessary, to facilitate rising.
• Turn out the dough on to a floured surface and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick. Use a doughnut cutter (or 2 concentric cutters) to cut out the doughnuts. Remove the holes and transfer the doughnuts to a lightly-floured baking sheet lined with a baking mat or parchment. Then - and this is the vital part - cover the doughnuts lightly with tea towels and place it in a draft-free area, at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It will take that long for them to rise. If they don't seem to be rising much, move the pan to a warm place.
• Melt the shortening in a pot over a medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer. (Or you can drop one of the doughnut holes in the oil, if it sizzles and immediately rises to the surface, the oil is ready.) The doughnuts should immediately float to the top and puff up. Then use a metal spoon or spatula to carefully flip them over to the other side. Remove them from the oil as soon as they're golden brown on both sides (this should take less than 1 minute in total). At the end, drop in the doughnut holes and fry them until they are golden brown.
• Place the doughnuts on paper-towel-lined-plates to drain. Don't worry if they're a little imperfect; if your fingers leave impressions when you dropped them into the oil, that just means they were extra light and fluffy.
• For the glaze: To glaze the doughnuts, mix the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cold water, salt and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Drop in the doughnuts one at a time. Quickly turn them over then remove them. Place them on a rack so any excess glaze can drip off.
• To make the most of the glaze, set the holes underneath the doughnuts so they can catch the extra good stuff.

DOUGHNUT DOUGH

Steps:

• Put 150g water and all the dough ingredients, apart from the butter, into the bowl of a mixer with a beater paddle. Mix on a medium speed for 8 mins or until the dough starts coming away from the sides and forms a ball. Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for 1 min.
• Start the mixer up again on a medium speed and slowly add the butter to the dough - about 25g at a time. Once it is all incorporated, mix on high speed for 5 mins until the dough is glossy, smooth and very elastic when pulled.
• Cover the bowl with cling film or a clean tea towel and leave to prove until it has doubled in size. Knock back the dough in the bowl briefly, then re-cover and put in the fridge to chill overnight.
• The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into 50g pieces (you should get about 20).
• Roll the dough pieces into smooth, tight buns and place them on a floured baking tray, leaving plenty of room between them, as you don't want them to stick together while they prove.
• Cover loosely with cling film and leave for 4 hrs or until doubled in size. Fill your deep-fat fryer or heavy-based saucepan halfway with oil. Heat the oil to 180C.
• When the oil is heated, carefully slide the doughnuts from the tray using a floured pastry scraper. Taking care not to deflate them, put them into the oil. Do 2-3 per batch, depending on the size of your fryer or pan.
• Fry for 2 mins each side until golden brown - they puff up and float, so you may need to gently push them down after about 1 min to help them colour evenly.
• Remove the doughnuts from the fryer and place them on kitchen paper.
• Toss the doughnuts in a bowl of caster sugar while still warm. Repeat the steps until all the doughnuts are fried, but keep checking the oil temperature is correct - if it is too high, they will burn and be raw in the middle; if it is too low, the oil will be absorbed into the doughnuts and they will become greasy. Set aside to cool before filling.
• To fill the doughnuts, make a hole with a small knife in the crease of each one, anywhere around the white line between the fried top and bottom.
• Fill a piping bag with your filling and pipe into the doughnut until nicely swollen - 20-50g is the optimum quantity, depending on the filling; cream will be less, because it is more aerated. After filling, the doughnuts are best eaten straight away, but will keep in an airtight tin.
• FillingsCustard filling: Try out Justin's custard filling and, if you like, add different flavours to the custard as follows...Brown sugar: Replace the caster sugar with half soft dark brown sugar and half light brown sugar. You can add chopped stem ginger to the finished custard, or some hazelnut praline. Finish with half the quantity of cream.Chocolate: Whisk 150g dark (70%) chocolate into the milk. Finish with half the cream.Coffee: Add 4 tbsp of freshly ground strong coffee to the milk.Malt & vanilla: Mix 2 tbsp of powdered malt into the sugar, and 2 tbsp of liquid malt into the milk.Saffron: Add a good pinch of saffron to the milk. Finish with half the quantity of cream.Violet custard: Add 3 tsp of violet extract and 3 tbsp of violet liqueur to the finished custard. Sprinkle sugared violets and crushed Parma Violet sweets over the top of the filled doughnuts.

HOT SUGARED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Put the flour, yeast, sugar and 1⁄2 tsp salt into a large bowl, mix, then make a well in the middle. Beat the egg yolks, milk and melted butter together, tip into the well, then bring together with a cutlery knife. The dough will seem wet and rough. Leave to stand for 10 mins, after which it will have firmed a little.
• Oil the work surface and your hands, then tip out the dough and knead for about 5 mins until it looks smoother and feels springy. Keep oiling your hands if the dough sticks. Let it rise in an oiled, covered bowl in a warm place for about 2 hrs or until doubled in size.
• Give the dough another quick knead, then shape into walnut-size balls and place on baking sheets, well spaced. Cover again, then leave to rise for 30 mins-1 hr until risen and the dough no longer springs back when you prod it. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.
• Bake for 12-15 mins until risen and dark golden. Can be frozen at this stage for up to 1 month. Defrost, then reheat for few mins in the oven. Melt 50g butter in a pan and put 50g sugar into a large bowl. Let the doughnuts cool for a few mins, then brush with butter and roll in sugar. Spoon a few tbsp jam into a piping bag with a 5mm nozzle. Poke a hole in each doughnut, then push in the nozzle and squeeze in a little jam. Best served warm.