Glazed Doughnuts Filled With Lemon-Blackberry Curd
I had made a delicious, tangy lemon-blackberry curd last week, but I had no idea what to use it with. I could make a cake and use it as a filling, or pour it into a buttery crust and top it with whipped cream, or even spread it on some toast and have it for breakfast. While all of those ideas sounded tempting, it wasn’t what I wanted. I yearned for something naughtier. Something that tasted so good, and yet made me feel bad about myself afterwards. It needed to be charmingly sweet, but still a total jerk. Oh, and fried. I wanted something fried. I wanted a doughnut. Can you tell that I’ve been dieting for a few weeks? I have only made doughnuts once, and found them to be remarkably easy. True, it is time consuming, but the majority of the time is spent engaging in negative self-talk about how I have no discipline. All the while, that terribly sticky dough is just rising with pride in the corner of the kitchen without any further help from me (it is so darn full of itself).
The recipe I used for these delicious doughnuts comes from King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion. They are beautifully sweet, crisp on the outside, and light-as-a-feather on the inside. Here’s how it’s done: first, mix all of the dry ingredients together including the yeast.
In another bowl, mix the milk, eggs, and vanilla together. I heated the milk in the microwave for about 20 seconds. This is not necessary, however, I thought that some heat would better activate the yeast. Make sure it is just slightly warm to the touch, so as not to cook the egg.
Combine the wet and the dry ingredients together.
Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 7 minutes. This is a really sticky dough, so have a dough scraper and flour near by.
Let it rise for 2 hours, or until doubled is size…
Then roll and cut out your shapes. I used a biscuit cutter.
Place them on a baking sheet, and set them aside to rise for one more hour. When ready, fry ’em up! About 30 seconds on each side, or until golden brown.
When cool enough to touch, fill with the lemon-blackberry curd.
Drizzle the doughnuts with a vanilla glaze and enjoy!
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
- 1/4 cup (50 g) Sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp. Instant Yeast
- 3 cups (375 g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 large Egg
- 1 cup Milk
- 2 TBS Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 6 cups Vegetable Oil or Shortening, for frying
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 2 cups (225 g) Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Lemon-Blackberry Curd
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla. Stir this egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, and then on a floured surface, knead the dough for 6 to 8 minutes. This is a very sticky dough, so have flour and a dough scraper nearby for assistance. Once the dough has become a bit smoother place it in a buttered bowl. Turn it around in the bowl to grease all of the sides, and then place a damp towel over top. Let it rise for 1 and ½ to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Deflate the dough by punching it down and dropping it a few times in the bowl. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Using a round cutter, cut out the doughnut circles and place on a floured cookie sheet. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and set aside to rise for 1 hour.
- In a deep skillet, heat the oil or shortening to 350 degrees F. Carefully place the doughnuts in the oil, 2 to 3 at a time, and fry about 30 seconds to a minute on each side, or until golden. Drain on paper towels. I did find that some would balloon up rather quickly, and then be difficult to turn over. Tongs might work best to hold them down if this happens.
- Mix together the milk and powdered sugar until smooth, and then add the vanilla.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper, and then place a wire rack over top.
- While the doughnuts are cooling, get your filling equipment ready. Put the lemon-blackberry curd, or any filling of your choosing in a piping bag with a #4 tip. Using a straw or lollipop stick, pierce the doughnut into the middle, remove the straw and squeeze about 2 teaspoons full of curd into the doughnut.
- Once each doughnut is filled, dip the tops into the glaze. Place doughnuts on wire rack to allow the glaze to drip down.
- Serve immediately.
- Deep skillet
- Candy thermometer
- Tongs
- Paper towels
- Cookie Sheet
- Parchment paper
- Wire rack
- Dough scraper
- Biscuit cutter, or other round cutter
