13 apr

Doughnuts

Mrs Hickson, Albury Branch

MAKES 15–20

200 g (1¹/₃ cups) plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

60 g caster sugar

60 g (¼ cup) butter, chopped

1 egg, well beaten

60 ml (¼ cup) milk

85 g (½ cup) raisins

vegetable oil, for deep-frying

icing sugar, for dusting

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Stir in the sugar. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and milk, stirring to form a stiff dough.

Roll the dough out on lightly floured surface to 1 cm thickness. Using a 6 cm round pastry cutter, cut rounds out of dough. Sprinkle some raisins over half the rounds, leaving a 1 cm border, and brush the edge of the rounds with water. Place another round on top, pressing edges to seal.

Place enough oil to deep-fry doughnuts in a large frying pan and heat to 180°C, or until a cube of bread turns golden brown in 15 seconds. Fry doughnuts, in batches, for 5–10 minutes, or until deep golden and cooked through. Transfer to paper towels to drain excess oil.

Dust doughnuts with icing sugar and serve hot, or at room temperature.