Lotus Biscoff doughnuts

Are there any Lotus Biscoff biscuit fans here? This insanely delicious recipe was created especially for you. Fluffy doughnuts filled with a spiced caramel-biscuit cream, topped with a tasty glaze and finished with an extra biscuit for decoration. The light, airy texture of the doughnuts combined with the delicate creamy filling makes it really hard to stop at just one! So, are you tempted to make them for Fat Thursday?

Makes 15 doughnuts.

Ingredients for the Lotus Biscoff doughnuts:

• 550 g plain flour
• 1 large egg
• 4 large egg yolks
• 100 g butter, melted
• 80 g caster sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp dark rum
• 250 ml milk, lukewarm
• 20 g fresh yeast or 10 g dry yeast

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Sift the plain flour and mix it with the dry yeast (if using fresh yeast, prepare a yeast starter first). Add the remaining ingredients and knead the dough, 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 though the dough will be slightly sticky; I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or a bread machine). Transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1½ hours).

After this time, transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Shape the dough by hand: tear off pieces, weigh about 78 g for each doughnut, and form into balls. Place them on a floured cloth, cover, and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 25–40 minutes, depending on the room temperature; the doughnuts should be well risen but not overproofed).

Once risen, fry the doughnuts in oil heated to 175°C, for about 3 minutes on each side. The oil should not be too hot, as the doughnuts will brown too quickly on the outside while remaining raw inside; if the oil is too cool, they will absorb excess fat. After frying, transfer the doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Allow to cool completely.

Ingredients for the Lotus Biscoff Filling:

• 300 g Lotus Biscoff spread
• 300 g mascarpone cheese

All ingredients should be at room temperature. Place the Lotus Biscoff spread in a bowl and microwave it for several seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir — the spread should be fluid but not warm. Transfer it to a mixing bowl together with the mascarpone and whip briefly until smooth and creamy. Set a small amount of the cream aside to help stick the biscuits onto the doughnuts later.

Place the Lotus Biscoff cream into a piping bag fitted with a filling nozzle, then use it to fill the doughnuts.

To finish:

• 200 g Lotus Biscoff spread
• 15 Lotus Biscoff biscuits

Place the Lotus Biscoff spread in a bowl and microwave for several seconds. Remove and stir – it should be fluid but not warm. Dip the filled doughnuts halfway into the spread, then place them on a serving plate. Pipe a small amount of the reserved Lotus Biscoff cream on top of each doughnut and decorate with a Lotus Biscoff biscuit.

Method for bread machine users:

Place all dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and yeast last. Select the dough program (kneading and proofing). Once finished, remove the dough, knead lightly, and continue following the recipe as described above.

Enjoy!