fry happy
These cakey strips, yeasty doughnut pillows, and featherweight puffs have long been a tradition—if not a passion—of mine.
My French assembly for deep-frying, a large two-handled carbon-steel pan with its wire basket made of tinned steel residing inside (the basket of the newer version is made of nickel steel), turns the actual preparation of these golden morsels into an art form.
Doughnut art. Now there’s a concept. In a baker’s reality, doughnuts are a sweet, graphically interesting, of-the-moment item. Doughnut dough is controllable only up to a point. The ultimate form a doughnut takes bobbing about in the hot oil is the result of its own spirited force, despite attempts to rein it in (and I have certainly tried to rein in a few doughs in my time). A limited shelf life makes a doughnut even more urgently interesting, as the treat peaks into some kind of sublime sweet tenderness, then nosedives within the fastest span known to a cook. Its tasty window is a short, but happy, one.
I love to watch the inflation of every one of the doughs, the first leavened with baking powder, the second one with yeast, and the third with beaten whole eggs. Lifting a batch out of the rippling oil offers lots of delicious texture—crunchy, smooth, buttery, tender, moist—from a simple set of ingredients. The method for each differs, but the result is something worth the need to fry and eat them on the spot, and this is not quite an imposition on any count.
cake doughnut strips
serving: 14 to 15 strips (using Ateco tip #825) or 18 to 20 strips (using Ateco tip #823)
pure soybean oil, for deep-frying
vanilla and cream dough
13/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
13/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 tablespoons heavy cream
about 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for sugaring the fried strips
Pour enough oil to rise to a depth of 2 inches into a heavy casserole measuring 91/2 to 10 inches in diameter. Have a length of ovenproof parchment paper, measuring 8 by 8 inches, at hand; film the paper with nonstick oil spray and set aside. Have a cookie sheet at hand lined with several thicknesses of paper towels.
Outfit a pastry bag with an Ateco #825 or Ateco #823 open-star tip.
Heat the oil to 370 degrees F.
For the dough, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 2 minutes. Add the 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar in 2 additions, beating for 1 minute after each portion is added. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing for about 20 seconds after each addition to combine. Blend in the vanilla extract. On low speed, add half of the sifted mixture, the heavy cream, then the balance of the sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl thoroughly with a rubber spatula to keep the dough even-textured. The dough will be only moderately firm.
Fold back a wide cuff on the pastry bag and fill with the dough. Flip up the cuff, smooth down the dough, and twist the top closed.
For each strip, pipe a 4 or 5-inch length of dough onto the lightly oiled piece of parchment paper. Use the side of a palette knife or the blunt edge of a paring knife to cut the end of the dough away from the top of the tip. Using sturdy, heatproof gloves to protect your hands and forearms, carefully release the strip of dough from the paper into the hot oil by turning the paper slightly so that the strip slips into the oil. The dough strip will sizzle. Continue adding 2 more strips to the hot oil in this way. Turn the strips to deep-fry until golden on all sides. Lift the strips as they are cooked (2 to 3 minutes total frying time) to the paper towel–lined cookie sheet, using a large slotted spoon or slotted spatula: the exteriors will be very crispy and the insides tender and cakey.
When all of the strips have been piped and deep-fried, carefully transfer them while they are still warm to a paper towel–covered clean length of ovenproof parchment paper and sprinkle with the 1/3 cup finishing sugar. Serve immediately.
notes
• the presence of frying oil, deep and hot, requires constant and careful attention; never leave the oil unattended, either while it is heating up or at frying temperature
• for heating frying oil, always use a pot that is heavy, stable, deep, and wide enough to accommodate the contents as the cake doughnut strips, glazed risers (below), and beignets soufflés fry to a golden conclusion; protect your hands and forearms at all times while deep-frying
cake doughnut strips
glazed risers, vanilla-maple glaze
serving: about 1 dozen doughnuts
ahead: 6 hours
buttermilk yeast dough
21/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup warm (105 to 110 degrees F) water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour, plus an additional 2 tablespoons, as needed for rolling
1/4 teaspoon salt
pure soybean oil, for deep-frying
For the dough, stir together the yeast, the 1/4 teaspoon sugar, and the warm water in a heatproof measuring cup. Allow the mixture to stand until swollen, 6 to 7 minutes.
Place the buttermilk, the chunks of butter, and the 3 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan and set over low heat. When the butter has melted, remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour and scrape the mixture into a medium-size heatproof mixing bowl. Cool to tepid, then whisk in the vanilla extract, egg yolks, and baking soda. Blend in the yeast mixture.
Place 2 cups of the flour in a large mixing bowl and mix in the salt. Add the yeast-buttermilk mixture and mix to combine, using a wooden spoon or flat wooden paddle. The consistency of the mixture will resemble a thick, sticky batter-like dough. Let stand, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and mix to form a scraggly dough. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead for 7 minutes, using as much of the remaining 1/4 cup flour as needed to produce a dough that is firm but resilient. When kneaded for the full time given, the dough should be smooth.
Turn the dough into a bowl heavily coated with softened unsalted butter, turn to coat all sides in a film of butter, cover tightly with a sheet of food-safe plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
Remove the plastic wrap. Lightly compress the dough with a rubber spatula, cover loosely with the plastic wrap, and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the plastic wrap.
Line a heavy cookie sheet with a length of ovenproof parchment paper.
Lightly flour a work surface with the additional 2 tablespoons flour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of a generous 1/2 inch. Cut into sections, using a 21/4 by 21/4-inch cutter. Press together the scraps, reroll the dough, and cut out additional sections. There will be about 12 pieces in total. Arrange the sections 21/2 to 3 inches apart on the parchment paper–lined cookie sheet.
Cover the pan of doughnut sections loosely with a sheet of food-safe plastic wrap. Let the doughnuts rise at room temperature for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
In anticipation of frying the doughnuts, line a cookie sheet with several thicknesses of paper towels. Pour enough oil to rise to a depth of 2 inches into a heavy casserole measuring 91/2 to 10 inches in diameter.
Heat the oil to 370 degrees to 375 degrees F.
Remove and discard the sheet of plastic wrap covering the risen doughnut sections. Protect your hands with sturdy heatproof gloves to guard against any spits of hot oil. Fry the doughnuts, a few at a time (and no more than 3 at once), in the hot oil, lowering each in slowly with a long-handled spatula, and taking care to avoid spattering the oil. When the sections are deep golden on one side (about 1 minute), carefully nudge them over to fry the other side until deep golden, using a slotted spoon or slotted spatula. Remove the fried doughnuts with a slotted spoon or slotted spatula to the paper towel–lined baking pan.
Place the fried and drained doughnuts on cooling racks. Let stand for 2 minutes.
Spread the vanilla-maple glaze over the top of the warm doughnuts, letting it cascade gently here and there. Let the doughnuts cool and the glaze set, 20 to 30 minutes, before serving.
• the sections of dough must be puffy after the second rise and the oil at the correct temperature, or the fried doughnuts will be heavy rather than tender-textured
• the amount of vanilla-maple glaze is enough to create a light coating for the doughnuts; the recipe can be doubled successfully to double-glaze the doughnuts and so create a thicker, sweeter finish
• for oil and frying watch points, see notes
serving: about 3/4 cup
ahead: 30 minutes
sweet doughnut glaze
11/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sift the confectioners’ sugar and salt into a medium-size mixing bowl. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract. Using a hand-held electric mixer on low speed, blend together the ingredients until a smooth glaze is formed, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl several times with a rubber spatula. The icing will be creamy-textured and moderately firm. Place a sheet of food-safe plastic wrap directly on the surface of the glaze.
Use the glaze for spooning on top of the warm fried doughnuts.
notes
• sifting the confectioners’ sugar and salt together before adding the maple syrup and vanilla extract creates a smooth-textured glaze
• a special confectioners’ sugar known as glazing sugar produces the glossiest icing
beignets soufflés
serving: about 30 puffs, if made from rounded teaspoons of dough, or about 20 puffs, if made by level tablespoon-size portions of dough
eggy vanilla orange dough
2/3 cup unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water, preferably bottled
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, cut into chunks
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange flower water
3/4 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
4 large eggs
pure soybean oil, for deep-frying
confectioners’ sugar, for sifting over the fried puffs
Have two cookie sheets at hand. Line a cookie sheet with several thicknesses of paper towels and set aside.
For the dough, sift the flour and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Place the water, granulated sugar, and chunks of butter in a heavy, medium-size saucepan (preferably enameled cast iron or tin-lined copper). Place over high heat and bring to the boil. As soon as the contents of the saucepan reach the boil, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat, add the vanilla extract, orange flower water, orange peel, and sifted mixture (all at once), and mix to form a dough, using a flat wooden paddle. Reduce the heat to low, return the saucepan holding the dough base to the heat, and let the dough “dry out” for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring once or twice during this time. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Let the dough stand in the saucepan (still off the heat) for 1 minute. Whisk 3 of the eggs in a small mixing bowl to combine. Continuing off the heat, beat in the whisked eggs in 5 additions, beating until thoroughly incorporated before adding the next portion. (Using a flat wooden paddle for beating in the eggs returns the smoothest mixture.) Scrape down the flat paddle with a rubber spatula after each addition of beaten egg. Beat the remaining egg in a small mixing bowl. Add the remaining egg, a little at a time, to create a dough that is smooth, shiny, and somewhat sticky; it should hold its shape softly in a spoon. On most occasions, the dough will take at least half of the last egg, and sometimes all but a teaspoon or two; this depends on the absorption quality of the flour and atmospheric conditions in your kitchen.
Pour enough oil to rise to a depth of 2 inches into a heavy casserole measuring 91/2 to 10 inches in diameter.
Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.
Drop rounded teaspoons or level tablespoons of the dough into the hot oil, about 5 at a time, and fry until golden, gently turning the puffs over carefully. This will take about 3 minutes total frying time for each batch, but the exact time depends on the type of pan you are using and its weight, which affect its ability to maintain a steady temperature. Crowding the pan with too many portions of dough will impede their ability to fry and float easily, possibly creating undercooked beignets.
Transfer the fried puffs to the paper towel–lined baking pan, using a slotted spoon or skimmer, then continue to fry more puffs, a batch at a time. When the puffs have drained, move them to a serving dish and cap the tops with generous siftings of confectioners’ sugar. Serve the puffs as soon as they are fried and sugared.
notes
• a little granulated sugar has—forever—been an addition to my beignet dough, for it contributes to the caramelization of the dough’s surface on frying
• for beignets soufflés that are exceptionally light, with fragile-crisp exteriors, maximum puff, and moist-airy, tender centers, the egg-enriched paste must be used freshly beaten
• crowding the pot with too many spoonfuls of dough will prevent the puffs from frying correctly (by taking up too much surface area, lowering the temperature of the oil, and creating overly thick, greasy surfaces)
• my 7-inch-diameter FryDaddy Junior makes it easy work to fry a batch of beignets soufflés as it maintains an even 375 degrees F temperature; in this appliance, fry only 4 spoonfuls of dough at a time—perfect for four guests with an appetite for golden, tempting puffs
• a warm sauce made of best-quality apricot preserves is delicious served alongside the puffs (1 cup apricot preserves simmered with 1/3 cup unsweetened apple juice until bubbly, then seasoned with 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel)
• for oil and frying watch points, see notes