A while ago I posted a recipe for yeasted doughnuts, and discussed the different between yeast and non-yeast doughnuts. Well, I have played around with non-yeasted doughnuts too, and the results are pretty great. I think I prefer the yeasted doughnuts, but these still taste pretty amazing too. A bit like cookies and cream.

Because these doughnuts do not contain any yeast, they take much longer to prepare. In fact, you have to let the dough rest for at least 4 hours, but it’s better to let it sit in the fridge overnight. The baking soda and baking powder in these doughnuts reacts to the hot frying oil and causes them to puff up, which gives them some great character and crevices for the glaze to seep into.

These are definitely not something that should be made and eaten a lot, they’re full of sugar, but every now and then for friends (or a party) they’d be great. Everything in moderation, right?

I’m working on a few more recipes at the moment, trying to make sure they are perfected while also ensuring some great photos. I have started working towards composition when taking food photos, and I’ve started following lots of food bloggers on Instagram, trying to work out the best ways to display my food.

However, a lot of these bloggers don’t show the step-by-step process of cooking. I promise never to take that away from you. I know I sometimes appreciate seeing what the food should look like at each stage, so I can work out if I’m doing anything wrong somewhere along the way. Unfortunately, with my tiny kitchen, and tiny flat, natural light is hard to come by given the direction that my windows face. But, there is some, and I am starting to aim for photos to be taken at times of the day when the natural light is best.

Anyway, enough about food photography for now. Let’s get on with this recipe!!!

Ingredients

420 grams plain flour
40 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch ground nutmeg
160 grams caster sugar
50 grams soft brown sugar
90 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
120 ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
vegetable oil for frying

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars on a medium speed until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until smooth. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Continue beating until well combined.
3. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, ensuring everything is incorporated.
4. Oil a large bowl, and place the batter into it. Cover with a beeswax wrap (or clingfilm) and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
5. Line one baking sheet with baking paper or reuseable parchment paper. Have a wire rack over another baking sheet ready near the hobs.
6. Lightly flour a surface and roll the dough out into 1.5 cm thickness. Using a doughnut cutter (or a large ramekin and a smaller bottle lid), cut out as many doughnuts and doughnut holes as you can. Re-roll the remaining dough and cut out more doughnuts. You should be able to get about 8. Place each doughnut on the lined baking sheet and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
7. In a cast-iron pan, add vegetable oil until it there is about 4 cm of oil. Heat the oil gently until it reaches 180°C. If you don’t have a candy thermometre, allow the oil to heat for 15 minutes, then add a small scrap of doughnut batter. If the batter starts to sizzle then the oil is ready.
8. Work in batches, 1 doughnut and a couple of doughnut holes at at time so that the oil doesn’t cool down, add the doughnuts to the frying oil. Fry for 2 minutes on one side, then flip and fry the other side. The doughnuts should be a milk chocolate brown when they are ready. Remove from the oil and place on the wire rack. Repeat until all of the doughnuts have been fried.
9. Allow the doughnuts to cool.
10. While the doughnuts cool, make a simple glaze: 100 grams icing sugar, 1 tablespoon water. When the doughnuts are cool, drizzle the glaze over the doughnuts and doughnut holes.
11. Enjoy.