Mini strawberry doughnuts

Mini doughnuts filled with whipped cream and strawberries, coated in sugar. They’re half the size of traditional doughnuts, but don’t worry – the whipped cream and strawberries will definitely fill you up :).

Makes 21.

Ingredients for the mini doughnuts:

• 420 g plain flour
• 10 g dry yeast or 20 g fresh yeast
• 75 g caster sugar
• 75 g butter, melted and cooled
• 170 ml milk
• 2 large eggs
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• ½ tsp salt

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Sift the plain flour and mix with the dry yeast (if using fresh yeast, prepare a starter first). Add the remaining ingredients and knead, adding the melted butter at the end. Knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Although the dough will be slightly sticky, try not to add any extra flour. I recommend using a mixer fitted with a dough hook or a bread machine. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly floured bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place to double in size (about 1½ hours).

Once risen, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead briefly. Divide into pieces (about 40 g per doughnut) and shape each piece into a ball. Place on a floured kitchen towel. Cover and leave in a warm place to double in size (about 25–35 minutes, depending on the temperature). The doughnuts should be well risen but not overproofed.

In a large pot, heat the oil to 175°C. Fry the doughnuts in batches, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides. The oil should not be too hot, as the doughnuts will brown too quickly on the outside while remaining raw inside. Immediately transfer to kitchen paper to drain any excess oil. While still warm, coat in caster sugar.

Additionally:

• ½ cup caster sugar, for coating
• 300 ml whipping cream, chilled
• 1 tsp icing sugar
• a few Tbsp strawberry jam
• 200 g strawberries, cut into pieces

In a bowl, beat the double cream with the icing sugar until softly whipped. Cut each doughnut through the middle, about three-quarters of the way down. Transfer the cream to a piping bag and fill each doughnut, leaving space for a teaspoon of jam and some strawberries.

Using a bread machine:

Place all the ingredients in the bread machine in the following order: liquids first, then dry ingredients, and finally the dried yeast (or follow the order recommended in your owner’s manual). Select the dough setting and press start. Once the cycle is complete, remove the dough and continue with the recipe as described above.

Enjoy!