Donuts With Cardamom Cream & Raspberry Filling

There can be a big misunderstanding about donuts. Lots of people think they are oversweet, too heavy sticky calorie- bombs. About the last thing I can’t argue, but if you make the dough right they can be very light and fluffy. For the filling, you can choose for a tangy not too sweet cream. 

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Frying action

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 Ingredients (for 12-15 donuts):

Dough

·     500 g flour

·     180 g full fat milk

·     2 eggs 

·     1 package of dry yeast (11 g)

·     70 g unsalted butter

·     40 g sugar

·     1 teaspoon salt

Cardamom Cream

·     600 ml full fat milk

·     4 egg yolks 

·     30 g cornstarch

·     45 g sugar

·     ½ teaspoon of salt

·     2 tablespoons of cardamom pods

·     ½ teaspoon of ground cardamom

·     50 g heavy cream (30-40%)

Raspberry jelly

·     300 g frozen raspberry’s

·     100 g sugar

·     10 g maizena

·     1 tablespoon of rose water (optional)

·     Juice of half a lime (or use 1 if you like it sour)

Dusting

·     Ground cardamom

·     Sugar

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Directions:

1.  Start to soak the cardamom pods in the milk. Take a heavy saucepan and gently warm up. Take of the heat and infuse for 30 min- 1 hour.

2.  To prepare the dough, warm up the milk and butter till melted. It should be warm to the touch but not too hot. Add the eggs and whisk gently to combine. Set aside. 

3.  Measure the flour, sugar & yeast in the kenwood or kitchened and mix. Add the salt and mix again. Add the wet ingredients and mix with the dough hook for at least 10 minutes until a smooth and elastic dough. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover to rise for at least 2 hours. (or refrigerate up to 12 hours). 

4.  Back to the cardamom cream: In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Bring the infused milk almost to a boil. Add the warm milk mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook until the mixture is thick, 3 to 6 minutes. Strain the mixture through the sieve into the bowl, discarding the pods & any solids. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the cream and refrigerate until cooled completely.

5. Now make the raspberry jam: Put the raspberry’s & sugar in a saucepan. Combine the cornstarch and rosewater (or just water) until a smooth paste. Bring the jam to a boil and poor in the cornstarch slurry. Let it bubble for 2-3 minutes and take of the heat. Add the lime juice and let it cool down.

6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Dust the paper well with flour (otherwise they will stick!). Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle. It should be about 2-3 cm thick. Using a 6 cm round cookie cutter, (or a glass) cut out 12-15 dough rounds and set them on the prepared sheets. Cover them with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to proof for 40 min-1 hour.

7. When you’re ready to fry, line a big plate with paper towels. Put the sugar-cardamom mixture in a medium bowl. Add the oil (I used sunflower) to a medium, heavy-bottomed pot. You should have about 6 cm of oil. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and heat the oil to between 170°C and 180°C. Carefully add 2 to 3 doughnuts to the oil and fry them until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, put the doughnuts on the paper towels. When the doughnuts are still warm, toss them in the sugar-cardamom mixture. Repeat with the remaining dough.

8. To fill the doughnuts, using a chopstick or a scissor, poke a hole into one side of each doughnut (Be careful not to poke through the other side). Whisk the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Whisk the chilled cardamom cream to loosen it, then carefully fold in the whipped cream. Spoon the cream mixture into a pastry bag. Do the same for the raspberry jam. For each doughnut, insert the tip of the pastry bag into the hole and gently squeeze to fill. I filled the cardamom cream till somewhere half, then ended with the raspberry till the top.

9. Serve then fresh!