There’s something magical about the smell of freshly fried doughnuts filling the kitchen. Today’s recipe is a playful twist, with a fragrant Orange Cardamom sugar coating that adds a zesty sweetness and a hint of spice. These doughnuts are crisp on the outside, soft and pillowy inside, perfect for sharing with friends or indulging in with a cup of tea.
Recipe & photo: Apron&Whisk | Yesenia Consoli
Ingredients
- For the doughnuts:
- 400 g strong bread flour
- 170 ml lukewarm milk
- 45 g sugar
- 10 g active dry yeast
- 2 eggs
- 45 g cubed butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- For the Orange Cardamom sugar:
- 200 g sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
Orange Cardamom sugar
- In a large bowl, mix the sugar, ground cardamom and orange zest. Set aside until needed. (store in the fridge).
Twist Doughnuts
- In a mixer bowl, activate the yeast by adding the yeast, milk and sugar. Let rest for 5 minutes until foamy.
- To the yeast mixture, add the eggs, flour and salt. With a hook attachment, knead the dough for about 3 minutes, until a soft dough starts taking shape.
- Gently add the cubed butter one piece at a time until all the butter is incorporated. Let the dough knead for about 10 minutes. Make sure it passes the windowpane test take a small piece of pastry and gently stretch it. As you pull, the dough should become thinner and thinner, without tearing).
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover and put it in a warm place until it doubles in size, for about 1 hour.
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Once the dough is doubled in size, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 16 equal pieces.
- Take one piece of dough and roll it out into a long strip, about 20cm long. Then, simultaneously with your hands at each end of the strip, roll the dough in opposite directions. Lift the twisted strip up from the working surface, in a U-shape, and let it turn on itself. Pinch the ends together and tuck under each other.
- Place the dough onto the prepared baking tray and repeat with the remaining dough. Leave some space between each doughnut. Once ready, cover the baking tray and let them rest for 30 minutes.
Frying the Doughnuts
- Fill a large pot with vegetable oil. Pour enough oil so that the doughnuts have enough space to cook. Heat the oil to about 170°C/340°
- Gently add the doughnuts to the hot oil and let them cook for about 2-4 minutes on each side, until both sides have a nice golden colour. Transfer the cooked doughnuts to a plate lined with paper towels so that it will dry out any excess oil. Fry in batches if necessary.
- While still hot, transfer the doughnut to the flavoured sugar plate and cover the doughnut completely. Let these doughnut twists cool for a few seconds before serving!
