Choc-Caramel Doughnuts

  

Doughnut Love!    Let me share some with you.

Mini Brown Sugar Glazed Graham Cracker Doughnuts - for cryin' out loud - gorgeous.

Matcha Green Tea Donuts - with a great big grin. (Get it? Match your green tea doughn... oh, forget it.)

Chocolate Orange Zucchini Doughnuts - In your face... I mean, my face. Yes, please.

Pumpkin Doughnuts - If I were a pumpkin, this is how I'd want to be remembered.

A Doughnut Extravaganza.

Vanilla Cream-Filled Doughnuts - An espresso and one, or three, of these... can you imagine?

Maple and Bourbon Glazed Cake Doughnuts - Gone to heaven.

Cronuts - An utterly, butterly cross between a croissant and a doughnut... no.more.words.required.

Peanut Butter Pie Stuffed Doughnuts - yup, you heard right.

The Cruller - To. Die. For.

Baked Yeast S'mores Doughnuts - S'mores Doughnuts - genius.

Rhubarb and Custard Doughnuts - We're talkin' rhubarb and custard in a doughnut people.


We should do this again some time.

Choc-Caramel Doughnuts
slightly adapted from Donna Hay
Makes 12

1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 tablespoon lukewarm water
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
1 tablespoon caster sugar
25g melted butter
150g plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg
12 chocolate caramels (I used Hershey's Caramel Kisses)
Canola oil for deep frying
Caster sugar, for dredging

Pop the yeast into a medium-size bowl with the water and the milk and stir. Set aside for about 10 minutes, until foamy.

Add the butter, flour, cocoa powder, eggs and the rest of the sugar to the yeast mixture and use a knife to bring the dough together, using a cutting action.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly until smooth. Lightly grease a bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with cling wrap and leave to double in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface again and knead for about 5 minutes. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, push a chocolate caramel into the centre of the balls and gather the dough around it so that the chocolate caramel is completely encased in dough. Place the balls on a baking paper lined tray and set aside to rest and rise for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a small, high-sided pan. Using a small pan means you'll have to cook the doughnuts in small batches, but the up-side is you won't use as much oil. Heat the oil until it reaches 180 degrees C and cook the doughnuts, 2 or 3 at a time, for about 2 - 3 minutes on each side until they are cooked. Drain well and then dredge in caster sugar and serve immediately.