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| Gatherings: Decorate Your Own Doughnuts
By Emily Kaiser
The Washington Post Sunday, October 5, 2003 Mmm, doughnuts. Krispy Kreme is just down Route 1, but homemade ones are even closer. So surprise your friends with a little doughnut-decorating party. You make the pastries, then set out glazes and rainbow sprinkles, and watch for sugar-coated grins. When we were little, my sister and I sometimes went to my grandmother's house after school, where she treated us to just such an event. We arrived and the dough was ready: She guided us as we cut out the rounds, then fried them up. We snatched them from paper towels while they were still warm and doused them with powdered sugar or cinnamon. On one or two occasions she gave us melted chocolate to glaze them extravagantly. Whatever leftover doughnuts remained, we took to our parents the next day. But they were never as good; their attraction was tied to those afternoons in our grandmother's kitchen. Remembering those times, I invited my cousin, Adelaide, and her best friend, Gigi, to come make doughnuts on a Sunday afternoon with their moms. For safety's sake, I fried the doughnuts myself. But when presented with edible glitter and brushes sopping with chocolate and buttermilk glazes, the girls took little time to figure out what to do. Gigi took confident hold of the brushes and painted, while Adelaide sprinkled and sampled the holes. The rest of us didn't have to wait for the artists to finish their work: These rounds taste great plain -- and, of course, dunked in coffee. There are three secrets to perfect doughnuts. First, you must fry them at 375 degrees. If the oil gets too hot, the doughnuts won't cook all the way through; too cool, and they'll soak up the fat. Second, prepare yourself for a sticky dough. Have an apron and plenty of flour on hand to keep it off your rolling pin, counter and person. And the third and final caveat: Eat them right away. Emily Kaiser Buttermilk Doughnuts Ingredients 2 quarts peanut or corn oil Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a large, deep saucepan, being careful that the thermometer does not touch the bottom of the pan. Add oil to a depth of 3 inches. Heat to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer until they are thick and the color of cold butter, about 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar, then beat in the butter; next, add the buttermilk and then the vanilla, beating each until incorporated before adding the next ingredient. Using a wooden spoon, stir wet ingredients into dry until just combined. The mixture should resemble cookie dough. Cover and refrigerate 10-15 minutes. This will make it easier to handle. While the dough is chilling, set up your doughnut receiving station. You will need a slotted spoon, a spatula, and either a doughnut cutter or two biscuit cutters, one large and one small, as well as a cookie sheet covered with at least three layers of paper towels. Generously coat a counter with flour, and place the dough on the flour. Dust a rolling pin with flour, then roll the dough to a quarter-inch thickness. Dip the cutters in flour, then cut out the doughnuts and doughnut holes. When the oil has reached 375 degrees, use a lightly floured spatula to carefully slide the doughnuts into the fat. Cook only three or four at a time; do not crowd the pan. The doughnuts will sink at first, then float to the surface. Let them cook about 50 seconds, or until they are just golden, then flip them over with the slotted spoon and let them cook another 50 seconds (the doughnut holes usually flip themselves as they cook). When they have browned on both sides, gently remove them from the fat with your slotted spoon. Place them on the paper towels to drain. When doughnuts have cooled, you can dust them in a resealable plastic bag with confectioner's sugar or flavored granulated sugar. Flavor sugar by adding 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger to 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Or, you can glaze them: Combine 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar with 2 teaspoons buttermilk for a plain glaze, or add 1 teaspoon cocoa powder and 1/2 teaspoon corn oil for a chocolate glaze. Rainbow sprinkles work best on freshly glazed donuts. Per serving (based on one plain doughnut): 260 calories, 6 gm protein, 43 gm carbohydrate, 52 mg cholesterol, 3 gm saturated fat, 778 mg sodium, 1 gm dietary fiber |
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© 2001 - 2008 Emily Kaiser |
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