Custard and lemon glazed donuts with a hot cup of coffee was the best idea I’ve had on Sunday morning! I’m not a sweet tooth and during the course of time, my boys have followed same. The idea of lemon cuts a lot of the sweetness without minimising on the taste. Lemon adds it’s signature sweet-tart taste and when you add the lemon glaze onto these donuts, you’ll love how versatile this citrus mixture is. Donuts is what breakfast dreams are made up of and certainly you could indulge on this treat at any time with your favourite cuppa. The weather calls for it.
Donuts are impossible to resist and these are so much better because it is home-made, crowd-free and always fresh! I find that the stand mixer will become your trusted sidekick when you need to whip up and knead heavy mixtures including this donut mixture. Within 8 minutes you will have a soft, shiny, slightly tacky and smooth dough ball. On a practical level, it could take up to 25 minutes and some well-developed forearm muscles, to knead the dough fully by hand.
Warning: Once made, it becomes addictive!
I was never a fan store-bought of donuts unless I was absolutely satisfied that it didn’t contain too many sweet additions and most importantly it had to be fresh. Hubby would often gaze at me when I would continuously ask the store assistants if it is fresh and on which day has it been baked or made. I would often buy it with a sceptic eye and either I was thrilled at my purchase or deflated with the result.
This has led me to want to cook and bake more of our favourite foods and confectionery at home trusting in the process, using quality ingredients and satisfied with the fresh deliciousness. The bonus of it all, the kitchen blooms an enticing aroma.
Allow the dough to rise
It is important for the dough to rise for at least 2 hours and then for another hour after you have shaped it before frying. My boys prefer fried donuts compared to baked ones. I haven’t tried to bake these so I’m not sure if it will yield the same fluffy results. Should you try it, please do let me know how it turns out.
I do have another recipe for baked donuts which is from my cookbook Cooking Memorable Food With Paz. If you don’t have a copy, make sure to get yours soon for another range of delicious recipes.
Topping
The custard is optional. You could choose any flavour or topping that you prefer. I had store bought custard from Woolworths which I dipped the donuts in, much to hubby’s delight. The lemon glaze is a simple mixture of powdered sugar and lemon juice to constitute a pouring consistency but not too thin that it slides completely off the donut.
Which oil should I use?
I find that vegetable oil works best because it is neutral in flavour and you will need a lot since the donuts are deep fried. The donuts can be fried over the stovetop over low heat to avoid it from burning or becoming too brown. If you find that the oil is too hot, you can remove your pan with the oil, off the heat for several minutes and then place it back onto the heat to fry some more donuts. Keep the heat low at all times. Do not overcrowd the pan. I fried the donuts in my deep fryer and the set the temperature on its lowest for perfect results.
Should you give this recipe a go, please do leave a comment or star rating, it is always much appreciated! You could also join my food journey on my Instagram page.
CUSTARD AND LEMON GLAZED DONUTS
Ingredients
- 1 package instant dry yeast
- ⅔ cup milk warm not hot
- 1½ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3½ cups cake wheat flour I used Eureka Mills brand
- 4 tbs butter soft
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Stir together the yeast and warm milk in the bowl of the stand mixer. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. If you notice no change, discard the yeast and get a new packet.
- The yeast must bloom and become a creamy mixture.
- Add the flour, sugar, salt and eggs and mix on low speed using the dough hook attached to the mixer.
- Mix for 3 minutes until the dough comes together forming a ball.
- Continue mixing, while you add the softened butter, a tablespoon at a time until the butter has been absorbed by the dough before you add the next tablespoon.
- At first, the butter might resist incorporating into the dough, continue mixing, it will gradually mix into the dough. After the butter has been added, mix for another 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft and supple.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with clingwrap and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out until it is 1cm in thickness.
- Using a donut cutter or a round cutter, cut out circles. Use a smaller round cutter to cut into the centre if you don't have a donut cutter.
- Roll out remaining dough and cut more circles.
- Place your donuts onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper, cover again and allow to rise for another hour or 2 if needed.
- Once the dough has almost doubled in size, fry the donuts in deep oil over low heat to avoid burning or browning the donuts too much. I used my deep fryer at @100 degree celcius and fried both sides for 3 minutes in total.
- Fry the doughnuts in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan or the deep fryer.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the dougnuts to a paper towel covered tray, leave to cool.
- Once the donuts are completely cool, top with your favourite topping and sweets or you could do the simple lemon glaze (1 cup powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons lemon juice) and dip your donuts into this mixture or drizzle the mixture onto the donuts, whichever way you prefer.
