Mini MasterChef Jam Donuts

                   mini donuts, with plum jam and rose sugar

doughnut |ˌdəʊnʌt| (also donut)

noun

a small fried cake of sweetened dough, typically in the shape of a ball or ring.

Hmmm, today I tried the jam donut recipe that Gary made during a MasterChef MasterClass episode. Well, they are definitely light and fluffy and they taste divine but are they doughnuts?? 

The batter is more of a yeasted fritter, they taste a bit like deep fried brioche; which in itself is not a bad thing but I'm not sure without the jam and the sugar coating you would be thinking "doughnut flavour". 

However, whether your a donut aficionado or a donut newbie this recipe is worth trying. Not as sure about the shaping method which involves grabbing a handful of batter and squeezing off nuggets into the dry fryer, I used spoons! The donuts have a darker exterior than a standard donut due to the larger than usual dairy/sugar ratio in the batter. 

I didn't have access to fresh lavender (it's still winter here) so I ground crystallised rose petals to flavour the coating sugar. I also changed the jam to plum jam, otherwise what follows is the MasterChef recipe...

Ingredients

440ml (15 fluid oz) milk 
100g (3.5 oz)  unsalted butter, softened
75g (2.6 oz) caster sugar (superfine)
4 eggs
20g (0.7 oz) fresh yeast (or half that amount if using dried yeast)
4 cups plain flour (all-purpose)
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
200g (7 oz) raspberry jam (I used red plum jam)
clotted cream, to serve

Sugar Coating

2 tsp lavender flowers (I replaced lavender with 1 tablespoon of ground crystallised rose petals)
100g caster sugar (superfine)

Step 1: Heat milk in a saucepan until tepid (37°C [98F] on a thermometer). Whisk in the butter, caster sugar and eggs. Place the yeast into a bowl and about ½ cup of the milk mixture. Break up the yeast with your hands to form a smooth paste. Transfer to the milk mixture, whisking to combine. Combine flour and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Gradually pour in the milk mixture, whisking until smooth. Cover and set aside in a warm place to prove for 45 minutes - 1 hour.

dough has more of a fritter consistency

cover dough and set aside in a warm place

dough risen and ready to use

Step 2: Meanwhile, for the lavender sugar, combine lavender flowers with sugar in a large bowl, rub together with your hands until flowers are bruised. Set aside for 15-20 minutes to infuse.

ground rose with sugar infusing

Step 3: Pour oil into a saucepan until one-third full. Heat over medium-high heat until 165°C. Spoon donut mixture into 4cm round balls into the hot oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden and cooked through. Remove, drain on paper towel, then toss in the lavender sugar.

light and fluffy interior

Step 4: Spoon jam in a small piping bag with a 5mm straight-edged nozzle. Push nozzle into the centre of each donut and pipe enough jam to fill.

I used a squeezy cookie decorating bottle to insert the jam

Step 5: Serve donuts with clotted cream. 

Whether you serve them with clotted cream, in small cases or even tossed in a brown paper bag to eat in front of the TV they're a yummy treat the whole family will enjoy.

Be sure to check out the official MasterChef site for the top rating Australian cooking reality show... I particularly love the Gary and George MasterClass recipes. 

Happy Baking or should that be frying? :)

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