Doughnuts are hard to beat as a sweet treat but the traditional method of deep frying them is difficult to replicate at home. Instead, the sugary rings can be baked in the oven for the same fluffy texture.
Doughnuts are loved for their cloud-like consistency and sweet flavour, but they’re not the easiest to make from scratch.
Whether they’re filled, glazed, or bite-sized, the unique texture is achieved by deep-frying the raw dough in spitting hot oil – a method that is not only dangerous but also expensive.
Fortunately, they can be made more simply using the oven, taking just 20 minutes to prepare, and 10 minutes to bake.
Sharing her foolproof recipe on the blog Movers and Bakers, founder Andrea claimed that the results are “light and fluffy” doughnuts that are “yeast-free and require zero-kneading”.
She said: “This means no waiting time for the dough to prove, no shaping of your dough and absolutely no deep frying. In fact, you could be enjoying some delicious baked doughnuts in under an hour!”
The dough takes just 20 minutes to prepare and just 1 minutes to bake (Image: Getty)
Ingredients
For nine doughnuts:
- 150g plain flour
- 65g soft light brown sugar
- Half a teaspoon of baking powder
- Half a teaspoon of salt
- One large egg
- 80ml milk
- Four tablespoons of unsalted butter melted
- One teaspoon of vanilla extract
For the icing:
- Melted butter
- Granulated sugar
- 200g icing sugar
- 1-3 tablespoons of milk
- Sprinkles
Doughnuts are easy to make in the oven instead of deep-frying them (Image: Getty)
A doughnut pan is best for uniform results, but a muffin tin will work just as well with some tin foil. If using a standard muffin tray, line each one with some tinfoil to on the base and edges of each section, then scrunch up a small ball of foil to place in the centre.
This will form a hole in the core, albeit a less precise one than if using an actual doughnut pan. If using the latter, grease with some butter to prevent sticking. Preheat the oven to 180C before moving on to the doughnut mixture.
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt, then add in the brown sugar. Whisk lightly to combine then set aside.
Pour the milk, egg and vanilla paste into a separate bowl then whisk. Gradually add in four tablespoons of melted butter and whisk some more to stop it from solidifying.
The powdered sugar coating requires just two ingredients (Image: Getty)
Tip the contents of the bowl into the dry ingredients mixture and stir until they form a thick batter. When the consistency is right, transfer the dough into a piping bag and squeeze into each doughnut pan section to fill them two-thirds of the way.
Andrea said: “This is important as if you fill it more, your doughnut will rise and close up whilst baking, so it won’t be a ring shape any longer.”
Place the tray in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when pierced, and the dough is springy to the touch.
Remove from the oven and carefully loosen each one before tipping them onto a wire rack to cool. In the meantime, move onto the icing which will top each doughnut.
This simple topping is easy to make in seconds, just melt some butter and brush it onto the cooled doughnuts. Toss each one in granulated sugar until completely coated.
Glazed doughnuts
For a sweet, sticky glaze, combine three teaspoons of milk with 200g of icing sugar and mix to form a thick glaze. Add more milk if necessary to achieve a slightly runny consistency.
Serve as they are or top with sprinkles and leave on a cooling rack to set.
Source : Express
