Lemon meringue doughnuts

Fancy doughnuts that taste just like lemon meringue pie? 🙂 You can’t go wrong with classic rose-filled doughnuts, but it’s fun to try something a little different now and then. These lemon meringue doughnuts are soft, fluffy and delicately flavoured with lemon, with a tangy lemon curd filling and a topping of light, fluffy Italian meringue, lightly toasted for a beautiful finish. A delicious twist on a traditional favourite!

Makes about 15 doughnuts.

Ingredients for the yeast dough:

• 450 g strong white bread flour
• 7 g dried yeast or 14 g fresh yeast
• 250 ml lukewarm milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 egg yolks, from large eggs
• 80 g caster sugar
• a generous pinch of salt
• 60 g butter, melted
• 1 tbsp lemon liqueur
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Sift the flour and mix with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, first prepare a yeast starter). Add the remaining dough ingredients and knead, adding the melted butter towards the end. Knead for several minutes until the dough is smooth and soft. Try not to add extra flour, even if the dough feels slightly sticky. I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or a bread machine. Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.

Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Divide into pieces weighing approximately 65 g each and shape into balls. Place them on a lightly floured tea towel or work surface. Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about 25–40 minutes, depending on the room temperature. The doughnuts should be nicely puffed up but not overproofed.

Fry the doughnuts in oil heated to 175°C for approximately 1½–2 minutes on each side. The oil should not be too hot, or the doughnuts will brown quickly on the outside while remaining raw in the middle. Transfer them to kitchen paper to drain and leave to cool.

Ingredients for the lemon filling:

• lemon curd, prepared using this recipe

Ingredients for the Italian meringue:

• 2 egg whites (80 g), at room temperature
• 150 g caster sugar (130 g + 20 g)
• 30 ml water

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Make sure the bowl is completely clean and dry, with no traces of grease, and that the egg whites are free from any yolk. Measure out 20 g of the sugar into a small cup and set aside.

Put the remaining 130 g of sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil. Attach a sugar thermometer and cook over a medium heat, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 118°C (245°F).

Meanwhile, when the syrup reaches 100°C (210°F), start whisking the egg whites. Whisk until stiff peaks form, then gradually add the reserved sugar, a teaspoon at a time, continuing to whisk. As soon as the syrup reaches the required temperature, remove it from the heat. Turn the mixer up to its highest speed and slowly pour the hot syrup into the egg whites in a thin, steady stream, without stopping the mixer. Continue whisking for 5–8 minutes. The meringue should be very stiff, thick and glossy, and should have cooled down.

To assemble:

Transfer the lemon curd to a piping bag fitted with a doughnut-filling nozzle and use it to fill the cooled doughnuts.

Dip the top of each doughnut into the Italian meringue. Use a spatula to shape little peaks in the meringue, then carefully caramelise the surface with a kitchen blowtorch.

Method for bread machine users:

Place all the yeast dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast. Select the ‘dough’ programme (kneading and first rise). Once the programme has finished, remove the dough, knead it lightly, and continue according to the main recipe above.

Enjoy!