Hot Cinnamon Jam Doughnuts

11 September 2017

One of my favourite sweet treats pre-veganism, I would happily order a box of 12 Krispy Kremes on a casual weekday and nail them with a friend or my sister. Giving them up was obviously massively beneficial to my health, not to mention my waistline! However, doughnuts are one of those things that it seems slightly unreasonable to never ever eat again. A face full of sugar and a mouth full of jam – who doesn’t want that?! With this recipe, you can have both, along with a clean conscience to help you sleep at night. This recipe takes time and maybe a tad more effort than some of the others, but trust me it’s 100 per cent worth it!

Hot Cinnamon Jam Doughnuts

MAKES 15–18

7g sachet dried yeast

1 tbsp golden caster sugar, plus 60g

40g vegan butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

400g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Light olive oil, for greasing and shallow frying

180g raspberry jam

For the cinnamon dusting:

200g golden caster sugar

1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Put 240ml warm water in a small bowl and add the yeast and the 1 tbsp sugar. Stir to mix, then leave for 5–10 minutes to activate and become frothy.

Put the butter in a small bowl and add the vanilla. Stir well to combine. Sift the fl our, baking powder and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl and stir in the 60g sugar. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast mixture and the butter mixture, and stir well until the mixture comes together to form a dough.

Remove from the bowl and knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface for 3–4 minutes until smooth. Clean out the bowl and lightly grease it with a little olive oil. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with clingfilm. Put the bowl in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface until 2.5cm thick. Using a 5cm plain round cookie

cutter, cut out rounds and put them onto the prepared tray. Leave for 15 minutes to rise.

To make the cinnamon dusting, put the sugar in a mixing bowl and add the cinnamon. Mix well.

Heat oil to a depth of 5–7.5cm in a large saucepan or deepfat fryer to 170°C (test by frying a small cube of bread; it should brown in about 60 seconds). Lower the dough circles 5 or 6 at a time (depending on the size of your saucepan) carefully into the oil and cook for 2–3 minutes on each side. They will puff up and turn golden brown.

Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper, then put them into the cinnamon dusting and coat well all over. Put some jam into a piping bag. Poke a hole into each doughnut using a skewer or chopstick, then pipe a little jam into each doughnut. Serve while still hot.