It's National Doughnut Day!
“Doughnuts are the new thing,” said Nettie Frank during her Art of Catering Food session Beyond Basic: Doughnuts = Dollars (where attendees enjoyed a blueberry cobbler doughnut). “They never go out of style.
“Dress it up, make it savory, make it sweet. Elevate it, be innovative, be creative. These are fun little pastries that we want to pipe and decorate.”
Over the years doughnuts have evolved to include myriad hybrid versions (i.e., cronut1, waffle doughnuts, cannoli doughnuts, macron doughnuts, doughnut sandwiches, etc.), and the presentation itself has even been elevated beyond the humble doughnut wall. Think doughnut cakes, build-your-own doughnut bars, doughnut cocktails, doughnut towers, and even flaming doughnuts2.
The doughnuts market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 2.65% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecasted to increase by $3.2 million
“Even though it’s something that’s been around for hundreds of years, you can still create something out of that and make it new and exciting and innovative and you can call it yours,” Frank said.
Check out Frank's recipe below for her Blueberry Cobbler Doughnut. Enjoy!
Blueberry Cobbler Beyond Glaze Doughnut
You’ll need a stand mixer, two large baking sheets, parchment paper, two to four 10-inch bamboo skewers, one wire rack, tongs, bench scraper (pancake/flat spatula), large wide saucepan (4 qts or more), candy or meat thermometer, and 2–3 qts vegetable oil or crisco. We recommend you measure and prep all of your ingredients before you begin. Get parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and wire rack on top of parchment paper.
Ingredients
Method
- Place ingredients into a stand mixer bowl. Stir two times—that is, do not over mix—and let bloom for two minutes.
Ingredients
Method
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Add above to yeast mixture. Using a dough hook, mix on medium speed for 5 minutes. cover and let rise, about 45 minutes. Make the glaze while the dough is rising.
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Before you place dough on the counter, start preheating the vegetable oil or crisco. Fill up the pan about half way. Turn the stove to medium heat so it can slowly heat up.
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Place dough on a lightly floured surface. take a bench scraper and fold dough into thirds. Rotate folded dough a quart turn and fold in thirds again. Roll out dough using a rolling pin into a 12 x 12 inch square. using a three-inch circle cookie cutter, cut out 12 doughnuts. Using a ¾ inch circle cookie cutter, cut out the center for the doughnut hole.
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Check oil with a thermometer and make sure it's about 340° F to 350° F. If it’s past 350° F, turn down the heat or add an additional cut of oil or crisco to cool down the temperature.
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Test oil with one doughnut hole to make sure it floats to the top and starts frying it. If the dough sinks to the bottom and does not pop to the top that means your oil is not hot enough. Using the bamboo skewers, flip the doughnut hole when it looks golden brown, about one minute. Only flip once. We use the skewers so you don’t rip the doughnuts (like you would with tongs).
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Using both hands, gently place one to three doughnuts into the pan of hot oil. Do NOT put fingers into oil. Do not overcrowd the oil. Carefully watch doughnuts until they turn golden brown, about 1 minute. Using bamboo skewers, carefully flip the doughnuts. Let cook for one more minute. Make sure both sides are golden brown with the white ring around the doughnut in between the two cooked sides. Remove and place on the cooling rack.
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Place the next set of doughnuts into hot oil to be cooked. While those are cooking, take the slightly cooled doughnuts with one hand, dunk into a bowl of glaze and remove. Let the glaze drip off a bit then place back onto the cooling rack. Repeat with other cooked doughnuts.
