Libby Klein Today I am thrilled to offer a Hanukkah recipe! I have been gluten-free for a long time, and I've been able to replicate everything I love in a gluten-free copycat version with two exceptions. Today I have conquered one of them. Jelly Donuts.
Full disclosure: I am not Jewish. I know some of you think I am because of my last name - but it's German. I have friends who are Jewish which is how I know sufganiyot - or - Jelly donuts are a Hanukkah tradition. So I figured with all the Christmas hoopla going on, what better time to offer up a recipe that includes my Jewish friends?
My love for donuts goes back to Sunday School where a kaleidoscope of colorful pastries were set out before every service in what I'm sure was meant as a sugary bribe for attendance. A bribe I was all there for. Being one of my favorite foods in the world, the lack of a good yeast-raised jelly donut is a celiac tragedy.
Until now. These were not hard to make, but I'm not someone who deep fries things very ofte, so that learning curve was the hardest part for me. I had trouble getting the oil not to overheat. Too hot and the donuts get too brown on the outside and stay raw on the inside. My stove and cookware tend to be overachievers too. Once I got my oil to the right temperature I turned off the heat and kept my eye on the thermometer for cooling off. Then I'd give the burner a quick burst of flames to keep it steady.
The finished donuts are near perfect. It has been so long since I've had a proper jelly donut that I totally forgot to roll some of them in powdered sugar.
Gluten-Free Jelly Donuts
Makes 1 dozen donuts
*This recipe has a long chill time before they
rise
Ingredients
Oil for deep frying (canola,
vegetable, or melted shortening)
Deep Fryer or heavy pan like a Dutch
oven (You will need enough shortening or oil to fill the pan enough so the
donuts can sink down half-way.)
Candy/Frying
Thermometer or a digital thermometer that goes up to 400º
Sweet Dough
1 ¾ cups (490g) gluten-free bread flour blend
½ cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tbsp plus ¾ teaspoon (24g) instant yeast
1 tbsp whole psyllium husks
(or 1½ tbsp psyllium husk powder), optional
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cups (360ml) whole milk (or
dairy-free alternative)
1/3 cup (169g) butter, very soft
or melted (or dairy-free butter)
1 large egg, at room
temperature
Fluffy Filling
½ cup shortening,
softened
½
cup (125 g) powdered
sugar
¾
cups marshmallow
fluff – the thick kind – not sundae topping
¼ teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
extract
Toppings
Powdered Sugar
Granulated Sugar
Vanilla Glaze (recipe follows)
Vanilla Glaze
1 cups
(250 g) powdered sugar
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp (60
ml) whole milk
½ teaspoon pure
vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Dough
Heat the milk to just barely warm.
In the bowl of a stand mixer,
add the dry ingredients. Whisk around to combine. Using a dough hook or metal
beater, add the warm milk, followed by the soft butter and then the egg. Beat
until a soft dough forms. It will be very sticky. Scrape dough into center of
bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Remove
dough from the refrigerator and knead it on a well-floured surface until
smooth. Roll out to about ½-inch thick. Cut the dough with donut cutter
dipped in flour, or roll into balls and gently flatten down to make fillable
donuts. Reroll scraps. Place donuts and holes on parchment squares on a baking
sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area
until a little less than doubled in size. I like to put them in a cold oven with
a cake pan of just boiled water on the rack below them.
Frying in Oil
When donuts are almost completely risen, heat
the oil or shortening in a deep fryer or heavy duty Dutch oven to 320º-330° F.
Carefully lower donuts, only a few at a time, into the oil, parchment and all
(especially if they're sticking to the parchment). Use tongs to remove the
parchment from the oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side (longer for donuts
without a hole in the center). I didn’t need to put the parchment in the
oil but I thought this was a genius idea.
Remove the donuts from the oil and place them onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
Glaze or garnish and fill as desired. Donuts are best eaten fresh, but will
keep for a day, well covered, and can be heated very briefly in the microwave
(15 seconds or so).
To Make the Fluffy Filling
Whip all the
ingredients for the filling in the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk
attachment until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes on high. Fill a pastry bag
or ziptop bag with the filling and pipe into the cooled donuts.
To Fill
Using a pastry bag fitted with a round
tip, puncture a hole on the side of the donut. Fill with jelly, fluffy filling,
or anything else you'd like. If you don’t have pastry bags, cut the donuts in
half and spoon the filling in the middle.
Topping
Roll filled donuts in powdered
sugar, granulated sugar, or dip in a glaze. If the granulated sugar won’t
stick, brush the donut with a little melted butter first.
For Vanilla Glaze:
In
the microwave, melt butter with milk in a one-quart measuring cup or
bowl. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, whisking constantly until a
pourable consistency. Dunk donuts in the glaze as desired. Make
sure your glaze is not too thick or you’ll end up with frosted donuts instead
of glazed donuts.
