Fried Donuts with Grapefruit Curd

Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 20 mins | Total: 40 mins | Quantity: 18-20 donuts

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Start with the donuts - put the flax seeds into a small bowl or mug with 3 tblsp cold water and set aside
2. Put the flour and cubed butter into a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer and rub the two together using your hands or a paddle attachment until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar
3. Gently warm the milk to blood temperature (this means that when you put your finger in it you can't tell if it's hot or cold) then whisk in the yeast. Leave to stand and froth for 2-3 minutes
4. Add the flax mixture to the milk then add this to the bowl of dry ingredients, mixing together until it forms a soft, slightly sticky dough
5. Put into a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to prove for around an hour or until doubled in size
6. While that's proving make the curd - put the milk and sugar into a saucepan and the cornflour into a small bowl or mug
7. Add a tablespoon or so of the milk to the cornflour and whisk to a smooth paste
8. Heat the milk and sugar until just boiling then whisk in the cornflour paste. Continue whisking over a gentle heat until it starts to thicken
9. Whisk in the grapefruit essence and vegan butter then leave to cool slightly for a few minutes before pouring into a container
10. Lay a piece of parchment or cling film on top of the curd, making contact with it - this helps prevent a skin forming. Chill in the fridge until you're ready to use
11. Once the dough has proven, tip onto a well floured surface and roll out to 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. If you want fatter donuts roll out around 3/4 in (1 1/2 cm) thick. You will get less donuts the thicker you make them though!
12. Lay a piece of parchement or silicon mat onto a large tray and brush with a little oil - this helps prevent the dough sticking so that you can easily left them when you're ready to fry
13. Use a 3 inch (7 1/2 cm) cutter to cut circles then lay each one onto the tray, spacing reasonably well apart as they will grow
14. Prove in a warm place until puffy and well risen
15. Heat a good amount of oil (at least 1 inch deep) in a large pan - I used a wok for this! Carefully lift a donut off the tray (I use a fish slice for this) and gently drop into the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan - I cook 3-4 at a time only
16. While they're frying lay a couple of sheets of kitchen paper onto a tray and put some sugar into a bowl
17. Turn the donuts after a minute or so or when the underside is golden
18. Cook on the other side for another minute or so then lift out of the oil with a slotted spoon and lay onto the kitchen towel, gently turning to drain off as much excess oil as possible
19. Drop into the bowl of sugar and turn to coat. Set aside on another tray to cool
20. Repeat until all the donuts are cooked, changing the kitchen paper after every couple of batches
21. Use the end of a wooden spoon to poke a hole in the side of each donut, pushing the spoon in the centre to make a well
22. Fit a piping bag with a thin nozzle and spoon in the grapefruit curd. Pipe around 1 tblsp of curd into each donut - don't overfill or it'll just ooze back out!
23. If they last that long, store the donuts in an airtight container

Recipe by The Cook & Him at https://thecookandhim.com/recipes/fried-donuts-with-grapefruit-curd/