Doughnuts

We're having Fat Thursday soon and I just couldn't decide what to make for this year's 'feast', until I found these fabulously looking doughnuts on dorotus76's blog. I thanked her (in my mind ;)) for resolving my dilemma and started to make a shopping list ;) These are my first traditional american doughnuts and certainly not the last. I adore their softness and delightfully colourful icing. Don't you?

Serves: makes 20. Preparation: ca. 1 h (incl. deep-frying). Time needed for the dough to rise: 1,5 h + 30 min.

Utensils:

- small bowl (for the yeast),

- 2-3 bowls,

- electric mixer,

- piece of cloth,

- cup (7 cm in diameter),

- thimble (or a really small round cutter),

- tray,

- wide pot or pan,

- paper towel.

Ingredients:

* dough

- 2,5 cup flour,

- 14g yeast,

- 1 egg,

- 3/4 cup warm milk,

- 3 tbsp warm water,

- 1/4 cup caster sugar,

- 1/4 tsp salt,

- 2 tbsp butter,

- 1 tbsp rum or vanilla extract

- 1 l safflower or peanut oil

* icing

- 1 cup powdered sugar,

- 2-3 tbsp boiling water,

- food colouring

Method:

Melt the butter and let it cool to room temperature.

Rub the yeast, with your fingertips, into a small bowl, add one tbsp of flour, one tbsp of sugar, and a little of warm milk - just so it covers the mixture. Stir thoroughly and let it rise for about 15 min.

In a bowl, combine the flour, yeast mixture, cooled butter, and the rest of the dough ingredients. Beat the dough with a mixer for a few minutes, until smooth. It'll be a bit sticky, but that's OK. Form the dough into a ball, put it into a flour-sprinkled bowl, cover with a piece of cloth, and set it in a warm place for 1,5 h to rise (it should double).

Then put the dough onto a floured surface and gently roll out to 1 cm (1/2 inch) thickness. Cut cirles with a cup, and smaller ones in the centre with a thimble. Place them on a floured tray and leave for 30 min. to rise.

In the meantime, prepare the icing: thoroughly mix the powdered sugar with water and just a tiny bit of food colouring. If the mixture seems too thick, add a bit more water, if too thin - more sugar.

Pour the oil into the pot and heat it until it reaches 180ºC/355ºF. (Now, how on earth can I do it without a cooking thermometer? Good question. It's a bit complicated. I myself heated the oil for 15 min. over low heat, then dropped a piece of dough into it, fryed for about 1,5 min on each side and then tasted it. It was golden brown on the outside, a bit crunchy and wonderfully soft on the inside. Thus I decided that the oil is ready ;) Be careful, though, because the oil will change its temperature throughout the frying. If you're not in a hurry, drop a piece of dough into the oil from time to time, to check if it's OK.)

Carefully drop in the doughnuts, 3-4 at a time, and fry them for about 1,5-2 min on each side. Then remove them and pleace them on a piece of paper towel. Drop in the next portion, and in the meantime, ice and sprinkle the still warm doughnuts. Repeat after each portion.

Well, they sure consume time, but consuming them is really rewarding ;)