Doughnuts with whipped cream filling

Homemade doughnuts — soft, pillowy and delicious. This version takes them a step further, as each one is sliced and generously filled with freshly whipped cream, piped in for that classic bakery-style finish. Who enjoys this variation of doughnuts? I highly recommend giving them a try.

Makes: 18–20 doughnuts.

Ingredients for the doughnuts:

• 600 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 3 large eggs
• 100 g butter, melted
• 70 g caster sugar with vanilla
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract (or vodka)
• 250 ml lukewarm milk
• 20 g fresh yeast or 10 g dried yeast

Additionally:

• oil or fat for frying (e.g. rapeseed oil, coconut oil or lard)
• 750 ml–1 litre double cream, well chilled
• 1½–2 tablespoons icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Sift the flour into a bowl and mix with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, prepare a starter first). Add the remaining ingredients and knead the dough, adding the melted butter towards the end. Knead for several minutes until the dough becomes smooth and soft. Try not to add extra flour, even if the dough feels slightly sticky — it’s best to use a stand mixer 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 portions of about 70 g each and shape into smooth balls. Place them on a floured surface or cloth, cover and leave to rise again until doubled in size (about 25–40 minutes, depending on room temperature). They should be light and airy, but not overproved.

Heat the oil to 175°C. Fry the doughnuts in batches, cooking for a few minutes on each side until golden. Make sure the oil is not too hot — otherwise the doughnuts will brown too quickly on the outside while remaining undercooked inside. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Leave to cool completely, then slice each doughnut in half.

Whip the chilled cream with icing sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a decorative nozzle. Pipe the cream onto the bottom halves of the doughnuts and sandwich with the tops. Dust generously with icing sugar and arrange on a serving plate.

For bread machine users:

Place all ingredients into the machine in the following order: liquids first, then dry ingredients, with the dried yeast added last. Select the dough programme. Once complete, remove the dough, knead briefly and continue according to the recipe.

Enjoy!