October Daring Bakers - Doughnuts!

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

What an October!! Well, what started out as a month I'd rather skip has turned into an epic adventure thanks to the San Francisco Giants!! And the pumpkin doughnuts from this month's Daring Bakers challenge yielded the perfect orange for cheering with a doughnut in hand during these October ballgames. GO GIANTS!

I've never had the pleasure of chomping down on a warm, homemade doughnut fresh out of the deep fryer before this month. But hoo-de-doo were they delish! I suppose one of the best things about making homemade doughnuts is that there is no use cringing over calories and fat content (that freaky thing) .... they're going to be delicious, they're going to be homemade, so just close your eyes, take a deep breath and succumb to doughnut heaven! 

So, get ready to make some doughnuts today. You know you want to. It will make everything better. 

And GO GIANTS!

Pumpkin Doughnuts:

Recipe Source: Bon Appetit

Preparation time:

Hands on prep time - 15 minutes

Chilling time - 3 hours

Cooking time - 10 minutes

Yield: About 24 doughnuts & 24 doughnut holes

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour 3.5 cup / 840 ml / 490 gm / 17 ¼ oz

Baking Powder 4 teaspoon / 20 ml / 24 gm / .85 oz

Table Salt 1 teaspoon / 5 ml / 6 gm / .2 oz

Cinnamon, ground 1 teaspoon / 5 ml / 6 gm / .2 oz

Ginger, ground ½ teaspoon / 2.5 ml / 3 gm / .1 oz

Baking Soda ½ teaspoon / 2.5 ml / 3 gm / .1 oz

Nutmeg, ground ¼ teaspoon / 1.25 ml / 1.5 gm / .05 oz

Cloves, ground 1/8 teaspoon / .6 ml / ¾ gm / .025 oz

White Granulated Sugar 1 cup / 240 ml / 225 gm / 8 oz

Butter, Unsalted 3 Tablespoon / 45 ml / 42 gm / 1.5 oz

Egg, Large 1

Egg Yolk, Large 2

Pure Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon / 5 ml

Buttermilk ½ cup + 1 Tablespoon / 135 ml /

Pumpkin 1 cup / 240 ml / 285 gm / 10 oz (Canned pure pumpkin or fresh cooked and pureed pumpkin – DON’T use pumpkin pie mix!)

Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

Powdered (Icing) Sugar 2 cup / 480 ml / 250 gm / 9 oz

Whipping Cream (About 32% butter fat) 4 Tablespoon + more if needed / 60 ml

Directions:

1. Whisk together the first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended (the mixture will be grainy and not smooth). Beat in egg, then yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk; beat in pumpkin. Using rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions, blending gently after each addition. Cover with plastic; chill 3 hours.

2. Sprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour. Press out 1/3 of dough on floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch (12 mm to 15 mm) thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) -diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.

3. Using 1-inch (25 mm) diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.

4. Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches (40 mm). Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F (185°C to 188°C). Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool completely.

Thanks soo much to Lori of Butter Me Up this was such a fun challenge! If you'd like to see the magic the other Daring Bakers cooked up check this out!