Doughnuts Round II-Jelly Doughnuts that is...

I brought these fantastic jelly doughnuts to my friend's Suzanne's house for Hanukkah, needless to say they didn't last long. As you may remember, I decided to try all the doughnut recipes of the October Daring Baker's challenge since I wasn't able to participate, and started with the pumpkin doughnut recipe. I was about to try a second recipe but when I saw these in Elra' s blog, I had to try them, they looked so tasty. I used the recipe as given by Martha Stewart, but let the dough rise during the day, for about two hours. I tried both the method given in the recipe of sandwiching the jam in between two disks of dough, and the method of injecting the jam after the frying. Injecting not only is faster, but results in better looking doughnuts. If you don't have a pastry bag and the tip to inject the jam, use the method given by MS.

Happy Hanukkah!

Ingredients

Makes about 20.

• 3/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast (1 scant tablespoon)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup for coating
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons margarine or unsalted butter, room temperature
• Peanut oil, for frying, plus more for bowl
• 1/4 cup raspberry or strawberry jam or jelly

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the warm water and yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt; mix until well combined. Add egg yolks and remaining 1 3/4 cups flour. Mix until combined, then knead dough in bowl until all flour is incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead a few minutes until smooth. Knead in margarine until incorporated.
2. Transfer dough to a well-oiled bowl, turning several times to coat entirely with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Bring dough to room temperature, about 30 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough into an 11-inch square, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out about 24 (2-inch) rounds. Reroll scraps; cut out about 16 more rounds.
4. Line a baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg whites. Brush edge of a dough round with egg white, then mound 1/2 teaspoon jam in center. Top with another round; press edges to seal. Repeat with remaining rounds. Transfer to prepared baking sheet; let rise until puffy, 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Heat 3 inches of oil in a large, heavy pot until it reaches 360 on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches of 4 or 5, slip doughnuts into hot oil. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain.
6. While doughnuts are still hot, dip them in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, turning to coat. Serve immediately.

Squash Doughnut-A Daring Bakers Challenge

I have been a member of the Daring Bakers since March 2009 and sadly I haven't been able to participate every month. October's deadline caught me by surprise while working part time for a caterer. I was working so hard I didn't even realized it was the 27th until I started seeing doughnut posts going up. I really wanted to try participating in the doughnut challenge, especially since there were so many variations to choose from. Doughtnuts have been having a ranaissance lately, recipes have popped up in many food blogs, and Lara Ferroni, a very talented food photographer, just came out with a doughnut book. Since I missed the deadline, I challenged myself to eventually try all the recipes we were given to choose from, and started with the pumpkin doughnuts, which are not leavened by yeast, but by baking powder and soda instead. The recipe is really straightforward and simple. I used roasted Cabocha squash instead of the canned pumpkin for convenience, since I had it at home, and for flavor as well. The taste and consistency reminded me of little doughnuts called Castagnole, normally prepared in Italy during the Carnival. Needless to say, they went fast!

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I added the post lines just for the sake of being correct, and presented the recipe as written by Lori. I hope you will try it as it is worth it.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time - 15 minutes
Chilling time - 3 hours
Cooking time - 10 minutes

Yield: About 24 doughnuts & 24 doughnut holes

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour 3.5 cup / 840 ml / 490 gm / 17 ¼ oz
Baking Powder 4 teaspoon / 20 ml / 24 gm / .85 oz
Table Salt 1 teaspoon / 5 ml / 6 gm / .2 oz
Cinnamon, ground 1 teaspoon / 5 ml / 6 gm / .2 oz
Ginger, ground ½ teaspoon / 2.5 ml / 3 gm / .1 oz
Baking Soda ½ teaspoon / 2.5 ml / 3 gm / .1 oz
Nutmeg, ground ¼ teaspoon / 1.25 ml / 1.5 gm / .05 oz
Cloves, ground 1/8 teaspoon / .6 ml / ¾ gm / .025 oz
White Granulated Sugar 1 cup / 240 ml / 225 gm / 8 oz
Butter, Unsalted 3 Tablespoon / 45 ml / 42 gm / 1.5 oz
Egg, Large 1
Egg Yolk, Large 2
Pure Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon / 5 ml
Buttermilk 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon / 135 ml /
Pumpkin 1 cup / 240 ml / 285 gm / 10 oz (Canned pure pumpkin or fresh cooked and pureed pumpkin – DON’T use pumpkin pie mix!) I used squash instead
Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Powdered Sugar Glaze:
Powdered (Icing) Sugar 2 cup / 480 ml / 250 gm / 9 oz
Whipping Cream (About 32% butter fat) 4 Tablespoon + more if needed / 60 ml

Directions:

1. Whisk together the first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended (the mixture will be grainy and not smooth). Beat in egg, then yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk; beat in pumpkin. Using rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions, blending gently after each addition. Cover with plastic; chill 3 hours.
2. Sprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour. Press out 1/3 of dough on floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch (12 mm to 15 mm) thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) -diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.
3. Using 1-inch (25 mm) diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches (40 mm). Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F (185°C to 188°C). Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool completely.

Sugar Glaze

1. Whisk powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons whipping cream to blend. Whisk in additional cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form medium thick glaze.
2. Can be made up to 3 hours ahead.
3. Add doughnut holes to bowl of spiced sugar and toss to coat.
4. Spread doughnuts on 1 side with powdered sugar glaze.
5. Arrange doughnuts, glazed side up, on racks. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes.