Easy Donut Recipe (Doughnuts)

Do you know what happens if you put water on an oil fire? Oh my goodness, watch the video and you’ll never forget. You will also learn how to make yummy donuts at home with gooey chocolate or vanilla glaze.  Home made donuts are not the same as store bought, they are a little less sweet and if you fry them for a moment longer you can get a slight crunch on the outside, which I love.  Dip them in the glaze and put sprinkles or grated chocolate on top.  Yummmm.

Featured in this video: Fireman Matt, founder of Mercy Huts

And in very, very exciting news this week through an amazing set of circumstances, we come across an effective treatment for solar urticaria. About 4 years ago I went outside one day and when I came in any skin that had been exposed to direct sunlight was red, welted and itchy like a million ant bites. It lasted for a few hours and then went back to normal. But the next day and everyday since the same thing happened if I went in the sun for anything longer than a few minutes. After seeing many specialists a professor of immunology diagnosed me as having solar urticaria, a rare allergy to sunlight. He gave me the unfortunate news that there was no cure. I react to UVA, UVB and the top end of the visible light spectrum so suncream is not effective unless it is the fully coloured zinc, imagine that everywhere?. We tried higher and higher doses of antihistamines to no avail, the reaction was less but still there. The only option is to cover up in UV protective clothing if I am going to be in the sun for more than a couple of minutes.

Well while swimming this week with my kids, in long UV protective pants, top and wide brimmed hat my feet did not react, which was most strange. The next day I tested my arms while fixing the pond – no reaction. The day after I went swimming in a normal swimming costume and again no reaction. Totally, completely normal and absolutely loving the freedom to enjoy the sunshine. We went to the beach where I built sand castles with the kids and I walked down the street in normal clothes. No reaction to the sun. About three weeks later they reactions slowly started returning. Thinking through what I’ve already told you and doing some more tests we’ve realized the water stops the reaction, and allows your skin to be in the sun long enough to be desensitized – which stops the reaction for a few weeks. What an exciting discovery, this is life changing. Many thanks to everyone who has been praying for me over the years. Word of caution if you have solar urticaria test on a small area of skin first to check if it works for you too. Put one leg in a bucket of water and sit outside for 5 minutes, while the rest of you is covered in UV clothing. Let me know how you go – there are so few of us in the world I do hope that this post helps others too.

Donut Recipe

Makes 14
4 cups or 640g (22.58 ounces) flour, plain or all purpose
60g (2.12 ounces) or 1/4 cup sugar
14g (0.49 ounces) or two sachets instant dried yeast
90g (3.17 ounces) or 1/4 cup butter, melted
250ml or 1 cup (4% fat) milk, warmed
2 pinches of salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Add all the wet ingredients in to the bowl of a stand mixer followed by the dry ingredients. Using a dough hook knead for about 5 minutes. Check if it is ready using the technique shown in the video. Once it is ready place in an oiled bowl, cover and stand in a warm place until it doubles in size. Punch it down, roll out and cut donut shapes. Place onto a greased piece of baking paper and allow to rise a second time.
Heat up the oil to 375F (190.56 degrees Celsius) this temperature cooks them quickly so they do not soak in the oil, but not too quickly you don’t want them dark brown.

As they hit the oil they float and puff up to make that perfectly round donut shape.

Chocolate Glaze Recipe:
60g (2.12 ounces) or 1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup or 95g (3.35 ounces) icing sugar
1/4 cup or 30g (1.06 ounces) cocoa powder
1 tsp glucose or corn syrup (optional, helps make the glaze shiny)
approx 1 Tbsp boiling water

Vanilla Glaze Recipe
1 cup or 125g (4.41 ounces) icing or powdered sugar
25 mL (0.85 fluid ounces) or 2 Tbsp of water
10 white marshmallows
1 tsp glucose or corn syrup (optional)

Cinnamon Sugar:
1 cup or 215g (7.58 ounces) sugar
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

2015