IngredientsIf Making Your Own Doughnuts 250 mlMilk (warmed) 5 gFast-action dried yeast 1.5 tsp 500 gPlain Flour 50 gCaster Sugar Salt 2Large Eggs (beaten) 70 gUnsalted butter (melted) To Decorate 150 gIcing Sugar 2 tspDr. Oetker Madagascan Vanilla Extract about 1 gDr. Oetker Pink Extra Strong Food Colour Gel (1-2 drops until desired colour is reached) 1 gDr. Oetker Yellow Extra Strong Food Colour Gel (1-2 drops until desired colour is reached) Dr. Oetker Unicorn Confetti Sprinkle 2 gChocolate Buttons 2 white chocolate buttons with a circle of black food colour gel in the center for eyes. 11Pretzel Sticks (broken in half) For DoughnutsIn a jug, combine the milk and the. yeast. Add one teaspoon of the flour and one teaspoon of
the sugar. Whisk until well combined. Allow to sit in a warm spot for 10-15 minutes or until
frothy In a large bowl, combine the remaining flour, sugar and salt. Use a dough hook attachment on
your mixer to mix until well combined. Slowly add in the yeast mixtureuntil mixed and add the
eggs. Once the dough is in a ball, add the butter and mix until it’s smooth and elastic. Mix the dough for 8-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic Lightly dust your hands with flour and roughly shape the dough into a ball. Place into a large
oiled mixing bowl. Cover with greased cling film and place a tea towel over the top Allow the dough to prove in a warm spot for 1-1.5 hours or until doubled in size. Line two large
baking trays with non-stick parchment paper. Gently scrape the dough onto a. floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to
about 1cm thick Use an 8cm round cutter to cut out about 12 doughnuts, making sure to cut them out as close
together as possible. For ring doughnuts, use a 3cm round cutter to cut out holes out of the
centres, or use a bottle lid/piping tip to cut the holes Carefully transfer the doughnuts and holes onto the prepared baking trays. Cover with a tea
towel and allow to prove for a further 20 minutes before frying To cook the doughnuts, heat a deep fat fryer (or a pot filled with sunflower oil) to 180˚C.
Working in batches, cook the doughnuts. for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Once cooked,
transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Cook the doughnut holes for 1 minute or until
puffed, golden and cooked through. Once cooked, transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper To DecorateIn a bowl, mix together the icing sugar and vanilla. Add 2-3 teaspoons of hot water to loosen.
Divide the icing between 3 small bowls. Mix the 1-2 drops of Dr. Oetker Extra Strong Pink Food
Colouring into one bowl, 1-2 drops of Extra Strong Yellow Food Coluring into the second bowl
and leave the third bowl white. Carefully dip the tops of the doughnuts into the icing. Sprinkle on some Dr. Oetker Sprinkles while the icing is still wet Pop the two decorative eyes onto one of the doughnuts. This will be at the front. If you can't find edible decorative eyes, use 2 white chocolate buttons and add a drop of black food colour gel in the middle to make eyes. Once the icing has set, arrange the doughnuts on a serving platter, standing up vertically,
making sure the doughnut with the eyes is at the front. Set two pretzel sticks aside and insert the rest into the sides of the doughnuts, at an angle towards the plate to form the legs.
Insert the final two pretzel sticks into the top of the front-facing doughnut to form the ears. - They are one of the most attractive patisserie you can bake, yet macarons are notoriously challenging to get right. Here are some more tips that will help you bake a perfect batch.
- Choose heavy metal bakeware for more even cooking.
- If you are not confident about piping consistent sizes, make a baking parchment template of circles by drawing round a cookie cutter with pencil. Turn the template over and place on top of another sheet of parchment on your baking tray. You should be able to see the pencil circles through the parchment.
- Use digital scales to ensure your measurements are exact.
- Grinding the ground almonds further and then sieving them, will help make a finer powder, which will in turn, give a smoother finish to your macarons.
- For making meringue, your bowls, beaters and spatulas need to be completely grease-free. Use metal, glass or china bowls for best results. Adding Cream of Tartar will help improve the texture of the meringue and make it thicker and more aerated.
- Once you have the perfect, thick, glossy meringue, it will be full of air, so take care when adding the almond sugar. Avoid stirring the mixture as this will remove too much air. Careful folding and turning of the mixture will yield the best results.
- Once you have piped the mixture, you need to get rid of any excess air from the mixture and settle the tops so that they are smooth and shiny after baking, with no raised tails left from piping. Tapping the baking tray on a towel-lined work surface a few times is the best way to achieve this. After the tapping, you should see that the nozzle marks have disappeared and the top is smooth.
- To prevent cracking, you must let the piped mixture rest before you bake it. A skin on the surface should form at room temperature within about 30 minutes. Do not chill the mixture at any stage.
- Correct oven temperature is vital in order to cook the macarons properly but at the same time preserve the colour without browning. Set an oven shelf to the middle position in your oven and place an oven thermometer on it so that you can be sure the temperature is correct when you start baking. If your oven cooks unevenly, you can turn the tray around during baking. Only cook one tray at a time.
- The perfect macaron should have a crisp base and top, with a slightly soft inside. Follow these steps and you will be well on the way to achieving the best macarons you can bake.
- Unfilled macaroons will keep in an air tight container for 2 weeks. To enjoy macaroons at their best, they should be filled just before serving; after a few hours, the texture may soften once the filling settles into the macaroon shells. Do not refrigerate.
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