Raised doughnuts

There is something comfortable about donuts. They remind me of soft cushions which you burrow yourself into while lying on the sofa watching TV. And they smell of home...

These particular donuts are delightful! Light, fluffy, with a perfect donut "belt" along the edge. I came across the recipe on the blog Joepastry and totally loved them. Ever since I made them, they are one of my favourite. Try them, guys. I am sure you will love them too!

P.S. I have slightly changed the recipe to my taste.

Raised donuts

Recipe

Sponge (prepare the night before):
3/4 cups of AP flour
1/2 tsp of yeast
1/2 cup of warm water
1 large egg

Mix and leave at room temperature for half an hour, then refrigerate overnight.

Dough:
All sponge you made before
1 slightly generous cup of AP flour
1 tsp of yeast
1/4 cup of milk powder
1/4 tsp of salt
2 1/4 tsp of sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp of vanilla extract
4Tbsp of butter
Oil for frying (I used special frying fat, which is available in the butter section of any supermarket)

Mix all ingredients, except for butter. Then tip the dough on a floured work surface and start kneading, adding butter, 1 table spoon at a time. Knead till all the butter is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). If the dough is too sticky add a bit more flour (I added about 1\4 cup extra).

Put the dough back to your bowl and let rise till doubles in size (for about 2 hours). Roll the dough into a rectangle of about 1 cm thick. Using a pastry cutter (mine was 7cm in diameter) cut circles. Cover the donuts with cling film and let them rise again for about 1 hour.

Heat oil in a saucepan (there should be at least 5 cm of oil in your saucepan). Insert a candy thermometer. When the temperature hits 185C, you can start frying the donuts. Fry on both sides till golden.

Glaze:
2Tbsp + 1 tsp of any of your favourite herbal tea infusion (cold) or milk
224g of icing sugar
1/4 tsp of lemon extract
a few drops of food colouring (optional)

Mix all the ingredients till you rich runny consistency. Spread over the donuts.

Enjoy!