Doughnuts – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Donuts are one of those treats that are perfect anytime of the day. They are go-to for many as a quick breakfast, but they are just as good as a midday snack or an after-dinner dessert. Now, I am not a coffee drinker at all. The closest I come is a Frappucino from Starbucks, but let’s face it, that’s more sugar than coffee. LOL! I am a tea drinker though, and one of my favorite teas is Chai tea. So, when I saw this recipe for Vanilla Chai Baked Donuts, I knew I had to try it and I wasn’t disappointed.

What is great about this recipe is that it doesn’t require you to use a hand mixer or stand mixer. You mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and the dry in another and then combine the two. Next, you transfer the batter to a piping bag (or resealable bag) and fill your donut pan.

After baking them for about 10 minutes, let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. And once they are cool enough to handle, brush melted butter on both sides and then dredge them in a chai sugar topping.

Final result… A donut that had a nice vanilla flavor with a coating of warm spices that made it extra delicious.

Vanilla Chai Baked Donuts

Servings: 10 Donuts
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Ingredients:

For the Donuts:

1/2 cup milk*

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Chai Sugar Topping:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Pinch of black pepper

*I used whole milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a donut pan with baking spray and set aside. *

In a medium bowl whisk together the milk, butter, sugar, egg, sour cream and vanilla extract until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined.

To make filling the donut pan easy, transfer the batter to either a piping bag or a large Ziplock bag and fill the cavities of the donut pan halfway.

Bake for 9 – 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. To test for doneness, when you poke the donut it should bounce back. Cool the donuts for 2 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool. If you don’t have a second donut pan, wipe the pan out and re-spray and fill with the remaining batter.

In a medium bowl combine the ingredients for the sugar coating, except the melted butter. Place the wire rack the donuts are on over a large baking sheet or a piece of wax paper. While the donuts are still warm, but, cool enough to handle, brush both sides with the melted butter and then toss in the chai-spice sugar.

*If you have 2 donut pans, prepare both of them.

Recipe from Mike Bakes NYC

It’s the first Friday in June and you know what means… Happy National Donut Day! A little history just in case you didn’t know, this food holiday started in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army as a means to raise money during the Great Depression and to honor the WWI Salvation Army volunteers who helped prepare baked goods, including donuts, and coffee for soldiers. I wonder if this could possibly be the oldest “food holiday”, I tried to do some research but came up empty-handed. In honor of the day I am sharing with you a recipe for Lemon Ricotta Fritters.

I began by making the batter. In a large bowl I whisked together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Next, I added in lemon zest, eggs, whole milk ricotta cheese and vanilla extract and continued whisking until the ingredients were well combined.

Meanwhile I heated vegetable oil in my Dutch oven over medium low heat to 350 F. I normally use my cast iron skillet to fry things, but, I already had my Dutch oven out and I like that the higher sides of the pot prevent the oil from splattering. Also, I find that the temperature of the oil remains consistent in the Dutch oven throughout the frying process. It’s important to keep the oil around 350 F, any hotter and you could end up with cooked fritters on the outside with raw dough in the middle. Once the batter was ready I used a cookie scoop to drop small amount of dough into the oil and fried them until they were golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

I then transferred them to a paper towel lined cookie sheet to drain off the excess oil. Now, these were delicious on their own, they are incredibly light with just enough hint of lemon…

But, if you want a little extra sweetness, while they are still warm, dust them with confectioners’ sugar. I prefer to sift the sugar over them as opposed to rolling them in the sugar so it’s not too thick or clumpy.

If you love the combination of lemon and ricotta, check out these other lemon ricotta recipes:

Lemon Ricotta Bars

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Lemon Ricotta Fritters

Servings: About 40 Fritters
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Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for frying*

2 cups flour

3/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

5 large eggs

1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese**

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar for coating

*Can sub with canola or corn oil

**I used whole milk ricotta cheese

Directions:

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium low heat to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with paper towels to drain the fritters as they come out of the oil.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the lemon zest, eggs, ricotta cheese and vanilla extract and continue whisking until the ingredients are well combined.

Using a cookie scoop drop mounds of the batter into the hot oil. Add about 5 to 6 at a time, make sure not to crowd the pot. Fry until the fritters are golden brown. About 3-4 minutes on each side. Check the temperature of the oil periodically. You don’t want the oil to get too hot because then the fritters will cook on the outside but be raw on the inside. Remove from the oil and drain on the paper towel lined cookie sheet. Repeat until the dough is finished.

While the fritters still warm dust with the confectioners’ sugar. You can either roll them in a bowl of the sugar or use a sifter (or a fine mesh sieve) to dust the sugar over the fritters.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.

Recipe slightly modified from Domino Sugar