Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts & September's Give-Away Apron Winner

Fall is upon us and it brings out the flavors that my family loves; apples and pumpkins being at the top!  These cake doughnuts are easy to make and with a little trick I do, your family won't know that you didn't stand over a pot of oil and fry them!

The pumpkin farms here in North Carolina have fields full of ripen pumpkins and I only wish my girls were still small so we could take part in the festive activities of hay rides and trying to carry the biggest pumpkin in from the field.  Last year, I was in New Jersey with my granddaughters and I got to share that experience with them.  Of course, we had mini Apple Cider Doughnuts, which are just as good and I helped them carve pumpkins for their school's contest. These are the memories I hold dear.

Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned)
1 1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (or 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. of ground cloves, and 1/4 tsp. each of ground nutmeg and ground ginger)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 3/4 cups + 2T King Arthur all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans.  If you don't have doughnut pans, you can make these in a standard muffin tin.

Whisk together the oil, eggs, pumpkin, spices, salt and baking powder.

Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the flour just until smooth.

I used a plastic pastry bag fitted with a large round tip to pipe in the batter into the doughnut wells, about 3/4 full.  (This recipe makes 15 to 18 doughnuts, so you will have to bake another pan!)

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes--set the timer at 15 and check.  These were done in 15 minutes.
Remove doughnuts from oven and allow to cool about 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack.
While the additional pan of doughnuts is baking, melt:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

In a separate bowl, mix:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 T ground cinnamon

Dip the doughnuts into the melted butter, then sprinkle them with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Warm and delicious!  Perfect with a glass of cold Spiced Cider--it's still in the 80s here, or if it's chillier, try a cup of warm Mulled Cider. Enjoy!

A little behind, but none the less...the winner of September's Apron is Barbara Woods!  Please email me your address and I will send this beauty out to you!   I will have October's up tomorrow.

Paczki and Breakfast Pizza for a Wintery Morning

Our luck ran out and we've had a couple of snowy days that have blanketed our beautiful landscape, so what better way to make the most of it than with baking!  I decided to make up some quick yeast doughs--pizza and paczki (pronounced poochki) to make our breakfast a little special after my hubby shoveled the driveway and the deck.

Today, happens to be the anniversary of the doughnut, as we know it in America.  In 1847, Captain Hanson Crocket Gregory of Rockport, Maine, is credited with putting the "hole" in the middle of fried cakes, creating what we know today as doughnuts.  The story goes, that while at sea, during a storm, he lost his balance and slammed the fried cake down on a spoke of the ship's wheel--what had once been a soggy middle was gone!  Paczkis are Polish doughnuts and I was introduced to them through one of my dearest friends who sent me some from a bakery in her area.  They may not have a hole, but the addition of homemade jam made them the perfect treat with my cocoa this morning and with proper frying, no soggy middle--LOL!

For my hubby, I made up a pizza dough and topped it with veggie sausage, scrambled egg, and Fontina cheese for all his hard work in shoveling.

Sweet for me and savory for my husband on this cold, wintery day.  Can't wait for Spring, but as long as I have pantry supplies, we won't starve!

Paczki
2 T granulated sugar
2 T butter, melted
1/2 cup whole milk, warmed to 110F-degrees
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 to 2 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

Peanut oil for frying
your favorite jam or jelly
confectioners' sugar

In a medium bowl, stir the butter and sugar together, then add the warm milk and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and stir.  Let it set for 5-7 minutes to proof.  

 Add the vanilla and eggs and stir again.  Start adding the flour, one-half cup at a time until the dough comes together and is no longer sticky.  Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth.  

 Brush the bowl with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.  Place the dough, upside down, then, turn it over.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 1 hour or until doubled.

  When doubled, punch down the dough and lightly flour the bread board surface.  Roll dough to about 1/2-inch thickness and with a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 12 rounds.  Place on a lightly floured pan and cover with a cloth to rise again.

Heat a heavy Dutch oven with 2 inches of peanut oil to 350F-degrees.  Use a thermometer attached to the side to insure accuracy.

I cooked 4 at a time, being careful not to over crowd the pan and lower the temperature of the oil.  Cook 2 minutes, then, flip the paczkis and cook another 2 minutes.

The tops should be a golden brown.  Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before filling with jam.

I used a #230 tip to pierce and fill the paczkis.  If you don't have that tip, make a slit in the side with a sharp knife and fill with a large round tip.
Finally, dust the tops with confectioners' sugar before serving.

The tender doughnut with scrumptious Cherry~Cranberry jam was just the thing to shake the winter blahs.  Yum!

Breakfast Pizza
Dough:
3 cups 00 Flour or Perfect Pizza Blend flour 
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp.  + 1 T granulated sugar
2 T olive oil (more for brushing on top)
1 T yeast

Pizza stone
toppings:
Veggie sausage
undercooked scrambled eggs (2 large per pizza)
Fontina cheese




Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water (105F-degrees) with the 1 tsp. sugar.  Whisk to combine and let sit for 5 to 7 minutes until foamy.
In a food processor or a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine flour salt, and the remaining sugar.  Pulse several times to combine, if using the processor, or mix on medium speed to blend.


Add the proofed yeast and olive oil and mix.  Add enough additional warm water for the dough to come together.  Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth.  Spray a gallon-sized food bag with a baking spray and place dough inside.  Seal the bag and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450F-degrees
Take about one-third of the dough and roll out to a 5" x 12" rectangle.

Transfer to a pizza peel, sprinkled with cornmeal, and lightly brush the surface with olive oil.

Bake the dough in the oven for 5 minutes, until lightly browned.

Top with about a cup of cheese, then, distribute the egg and sausage over top.  Add additionally cheese, if desired and bake another 5 to 7 minutes until golden browned and melted.

I love baking when it's cold outside because it gives a warmth to the house with aroma as well as temperature.  As we're expecting a few more days of this "white" stuff, I suppose the oven will get a workout.  Enjoy!
 

Pumpkin Old Fashioned Doughnuts

My pumpkin recipe today comes from a new cookbook I bought by the owners of a Seattle landmark, Top Pot Bakery--Mark and Michael Kiebeck.

In an old warehouse on Fifth Avenue, in downtown Seattle, Top Pot bakery produces more than 75 million doughnuts each year.  In addition to their own retail shops, Starbucks and local grocery stores sell these delicious doughnuts and now they have a book out for the home baker to replicate their doughnuts...just in case you can't get out, or like me, at the spur of the moment, just want a doughnut!

Even though my mother occasionally made doughnuts, she had stop when my grandfather started coming for dinner every Tuesday--he always brought a dozen as a treat.  I picked up the "habit" of making my own after I got married; for Halloween.  I'd make yeast doughnuts, cruellers, and my favorite, "Old fashioned."  So, you can see why I was hooked, reading through the pages of my new cookbook, when I came across Pumpkin Old Fashioned Doughnuts.

When Kelly moved back home, while we were living in Connecticut, we'd stop at Dunkin Donuts every morning before I dropped her off to work.  She'd get her coffee and we'd both get a chocolate cake doughnut except during the Fall when they had the pumpkin doughnuts out--that was our choice.  Yeast doughnuts are good, but for me, there's nothing like a good cake doughnut and this recipe, compliments of Top Pot, was well worth the 4-mile run I did before eating one: ) !

Pumpkin Old-Fashioned Doughnuts
3 cups Queen Guinvere Cake Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. iodized salt
3/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 T. shortening
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
Canola oil (or peanut oil) for frying

Pumpkin Glaze:
4 1/2 cups confecioners' sugar
2 tsp. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. iodized salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot water


In a separate bowl, stir the dry ingredients together.  In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, beat the shortening and sugar together until it resembles sand.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the egg yolks and mix for 1 minute more, scrapping down the sides if necessary, until the mixture is light colored and thick.  Add the dry ingredients in three separate additions with the sour cream and pumpkin puree, mixing just until combined on low speed.  The dough will be sticky, like a wet cookie/biscuit dough.

Transfer dough to a clean bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap/cling film for 45 minutes or up to 24 hours.  This is a great step if you want to make the dough up the night before for a surprise breakfast treat.  For me, it was my time for a run!


Before rolling out the dough, make the glaze.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Meanwhile, in a large pot or deep fryer, heat at least 2-inches of oil.  Use a candy/oil thermometer to check temperature of 325F-degrees.  (I used my Delonghi fryer--the temperature for doughnuts in that model was 364F-degrees.)


Lightly flour a pastry board and roll out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness.

Using a doughnut cutter, dipped in flour, begin cutting out the doughnuts.

With my 3-inch cutter, I was able to produce 10 doughnuts and holes, re-rolling the dough once.  Shake off any excess flour off the doughnuts before carefully adding them to the hot oil a few at a time.  Don't over crowd because the oil temperature will fall and the doughnuts end up absorbing too much oil!


Once the doughnuts float, fry for 15 seconds, then flip them over and fry 75 to 90 seconds.  Flip them back to their original side and fry another 75 to 90 seconds. (In my fryer, it actually took 2 minutes on each side.)  Transfer to a rack set over paper towels.  While the doughnuts are still quite hot, dip the side with the deepest cracks on each into the warm Pumpkin Glaze.  Let dry on the cooling rack, glaze side up for about 15 minutes.

One of the handiest tools I have that worked well with making these doughnuts is my Ebelskiver Turning Tools.

All I can say, the run was worth it!  The golden pumpkin cake with the most delectable pumpkin glaze was just the thing to have while I cozied up on the sofa, watched a movie and did my Sunday crossword puzzle--perfect way to treat yourself. Enjoy!


 

Jelly Doughnut...Muffins

Today feels like Spring...at least spring here in the Pacific Northwest.  The sun is shining, I heard the geese, honking while landing on the lake behind us, and our deciduous trees are all in bud.  I feel renewed by the awakening of nature.

My spring fever was short-lived when our daughter, Erin, telephoned this morning to tell me she had received an email from the editor of Brain, Child magazine and Kelly's essay, "This Sucks," which appeared in the Spring 2010 issue has won a Pushcart Prize, a very prestigious award in the literary world.  As proud we all are that she has receive this award, it saddens us to know she's not here to tell us herself.  Although, maybe with this glorious day in front of me, she is.

I made these muffins this morning because baking grounds me and trying to come up with a recipe that would have been celebratory for Kelly kept my mind off losing her, as she would put it, sucks.  Jelly doughnuts, to me, represent springtime and it reminds me of a Polish dessert called Paczki (pronounced Poonshkee).  These jelly doughnut-like pastries are typically made for Shrove Thursday...the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, but in Chicago, where there is a large Polish population, you can also find them on Shrove (or Fat) Tuesday.  The pastries, like doughnuts, are filled with fruit or creme and can be glazed or covered with granulated sugar or confectioners' sugar as I did mine this morning.  A very dear friend sent me some Paczki from a bakery in her town and they were delicious--light, airy and filled with fruit fillings.  I tried to make these light, but still able to be baked rather than fried and filled them with some homemade jam...raspberry, which was Kelly's favorite.  However, when I make them for her son, Ari, I know he's going to say, "Mimi, I want blueberry!"

Jelly Doughnut...Muffins
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. Buttery Sweet Dough Emulsion
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups Cake Flour
1 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 salt
1/2 cup Evaporated milk


3/4 to 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 favorite jam or jelly
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar or Glazing Sugar (like confectioners' sugar without the cornstarch)


Preheat oven 375F-degrees (Convection) and prepare a standard 12-cup muffin pan by brushing melted butter in the cups.

In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the sour cream, vanilla, and Buttery Sweet Dough emulsion, if using, and beat well.  Combine the dry ingredients, then, add them to the batter, alternately with the evaporated milk, ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix on low until ingredients are incorporated, then raise the speed to medium for one minute.

Use a large scoop and divide the batter among the muffin cups.

Bake the muffins for 20-24 minutes, if using convection heat.  Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan while you melt the additional butter.

Transfer the melted butter to a glass bowl.  Dip the top and then the bottom of the muffin in the butter and place on a cooling rack.  

When all of the muffins have been thoroughly dipped.  Prepare a pastry bag, using Tip #230 for piping the jam (or jelly) into the center of the muffin.  This tip is also used to fill cream puffs and eclairs!

Let the butter set a 5 minutes and prepare a dish with the confectioners' sugar (or Glazing Sugar).  Use a spoon to dust the sugar over the doughnut muffins.

Last week, I saw on Facebook, a comment by a Buddist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh on the tsunami that had occurred in Japan.  Today, a dear friend of Kelly's and now, mine, reminded me of his words...
"An event such as this reminds us of the impermanent nature of our lives.  It helps us remember that what's most important is to love each other, to be there for each other, and to treasure each moment we have that we are alive.  This is the best that we can do for those who have died: we can live in such a way that they continue beautifully, in us."  

What powerful words to live by and cherish as I re-read Kelly's essay and had a bite of spring.  Enjoy!
 

Old Fashioned Doughnuts

I attribute my craving for a doughnut this morning to the stress of an upcoming craft trade show next week!  I've been knee-deep in creating projects for this show with my paper flowers and turning to comfort food brings me down to earth again.

I love old-fashioned doughnuts, better than the popular raised yeast ones, and this recipe was very easy to make. Even better the recipe only makes about 6--2 1/2 or 3-inch doughnuts, so the chance of me eating a dozen doughnuts is not a factor!  This recipe comes from a new book I have by Lara Ferroni, Doughnuts: Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home.

When I'm in Kentucky, Kelly's guys take me to Magee's, a wonderful bakery in Chevy Chase.  Ari always gets a pumpkin muffin, Matt a breakfast sandwich, and me...a doughnut.  The last time I went, we ordered an extra doughnut because invariably Ari wants bites of mine on top of his muffin!  In fact, he likes to "taste" everyone's selection : )

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts
Makes 6 to 10 doughnuts (if you don't cook the holes!)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 T unsalted butter, softened, or vegetable shortening

Vegetable oil for frying
Sift together the dry ingredients.  Stir in the salt and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, sour cream, egg and butter until smooth.

 Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, stirring until a smooth dough forms.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the batter for 15 to 20 minutes.

  Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2-inch thick, then, cut out the doughnuts using a 2 1/2-inch diameter cutter.  You can reroll any scrap dough.

Heat at least 2-inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or use a deep fryer.  The thermometer should register 360F-degrees.
With a metal spatula, carefully place the doughnuts in the oil.  Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until light golden brown.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.  Let cool slightly before glazing.

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 to 4 T milk
1 tsp. vanilla

There are some real interesting doughnuts to try in this new book: German's Chocolate, Red Velvet, and even S'mores.  However, this morning, the old-fashioned, simple doughnut did the trick and I'm off to do some more flowers.  Enjoy!