Little Apple Doughnuts with Blackberry Lemon Icing

I think I have mentioned here before what a non-fan I am of deep frying. It's kinda scary and messy and plain old artery clogging. It would only be something with super duper irresistibly delicious potential that could tempt me into it. And here it is people - little apple doughnuts with blackberry lemon icing.

I spotted this recipe in the local paper a few months back. I eagerly clipped it out and every week or so I would pull it out and just gaze at them. So good. They just looked so good! Finally, I just wore myself down.



These were really worth the unfamiliar effort. Soft and fluffy, with a sweet hit of apples and a lovely zesty tang from the icing. They were really good!



While they take a bit of time, there is nothing particularly difficult in the recipe. The trickiest thing is getting the two halves of the dough to stick together. It would all look fine and dandy, only to have them split back into two during the final rise. I found that pleating the dough, as you would a dumpling, worked best.

Actually, there is another problem with these doughnuts. They are all too easy to eat. Three bites max, room for a second, oh maybe another, and just one more, and.....



Little Apple Doughnuts with Blackberry Lemon Icing
(adapted from Sun Herald Newspaper)

4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
5 1/2 tbspn sugar*
180ml milk
3 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
500gm plain flour
2 pinches salt
12gm dried yeast
120gm unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, whisked
vegetable oil, for deep frying
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1/2 lemon, juiced
6 blackberries, crushed (I used tinned)

Cook apples, 2 tbspn sugar and 2 tbspn water over low heat for 30 minutes or until soft. Set aside.

Mix remaining sugar, milk and eggs in a bowl. Place flour, salt, yeast and milk mixture in the bowl and mix with a dough hook attachment for five minutes on low until smooth and soft.

Cover with plastic wrap and place over another bowl of hot water for 40 minute or until the dough has risen. Add butter to dough and mix until combined. Continue mixing for five minutes. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

Roll dough out to 0.5cm thick. Use a 5cm cutter to cut out 24 tops and a 4cm cutter to cut out 24 bottoms. Brush the edges of a 4cm round with the whisked egg. Spoon 1/2 tspn of apple mixture onto the middle of the round. Top with the 5cm round and pinch the edges together. Repeat.

Cover with a damp tea towel and keep in a warm place for 35 minutes or until risen.

Preheat the oil in a deep fryer to 170C. Cook 2 doughnuts at a time for five minutes, turning halfway through, until golden. Place on some absorbent paper and leave on a rack to cool.

For the icing, mix the icing sugar, lemon juice and blackberries in a medium bowl until thick. Dip top halves of doughnuts into the icing and leave to set.

* This is an Australian recipe, so 1 tablespoon = 4 teaspoons. 1 US tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.