According to Nectar and Stone’s baking and styling extraordinaire, Caroline Khoo, Donuts are so right now. ‘’I love that they can be decorated into such pretty and elegant pieces for weddings,’’ she says, and although abstract cakes are her prediction to be the next big thing in the dessert world, like her, we’re happy to revel in the donut sugar high for a little longer.

One of the most beautiful dessert displays Khoo has ever seen starred donuts! “It was a donut dessert wall that was a really stunning idea and playful, too,” she says. So, when it came to sharing a recipe that catered to our Fairies with a sweet tooth, we couldn’t look past the scrumptious donut recipe from her new cookbook, I’m Just Here for Dessert. Enjoy!

Donut Worries

These very cute donuts are fun additions to any party. They always put a smile on people’s faces, and they disappear very quickly.

Method

1. Add 1/2 a capful of strawberry essence to the Ombre Icing. Tint the icing with a tiny bit of AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Dusty Rose to create a pale pink.
2. To decorate, add some edible eyes, a mini meringue (p. 49), touches of gold leaf, some white sprinkles and a dusting of crushed meringue.

Basic Donuts

MAKES: 12–14 donuts
PREP TIME: 10 minutes BAKING TIME: 10–12 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

• 150 g (51/2 oz) Nuttelex or unsalted butter, softened
• 110 g (33/4 oz/1/2 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 egg
• 60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) milk
• 60 g (21/4 oz) plain yoghurt, or yoghurt with a sweet flavoured syrup like strawberry, rhubarb or watermelon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
• 190 g (63/4 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• canola oil cooking spray

EQUIPMENT

• electric kitchen scales
• stand mixer with whisk attachment
• measuring jug and spoons
• large piping (icing) bag with large piping tip 1A
• 2 or 3 donut baking tins (how many you need will depend on how many holes the tins have)
• 2 wire racks

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) fan-forced (FF).
2. Place the Nuttelex (or butter) and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on a low then medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. With the mixer still going, add the egg, milk, yoghurt and vanilla, and mix until just combined.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon, and mix until a soft dough has formed — this should only take 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl, if necessary, to ensure all the ingredients have combined evenly.
   5. Place the dough in a piping bag fitted with a piping tip.
   6. Evenly spray the donut tins with canola spray.
5. Using firm pressure, pipe the dough into the donut holes ensuring it only comes three-quarters of the way up each hole.
6. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until lightly golden.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool down fully before you start decorating.

Ombre Iced Donuts

This icing will easily make enough for 12 donuts.

You want to make sure that you have a good amount of icing to dip your donuts in. To achieve this ombre look, you need to create grades of one colour in the same family, starting from the lightest tone and working to the darkest. Start with just a little colouring at the beginning because you can only go darker from there.

Ombre Icing

INGREDIENTS

• 400 g (14 oz) pure icing (confectioners’) sugar
• 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) water
• Flavouring: extract or essence of your choice (optional)
• AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Dusty Rose (or any other colour you like)

EQUIPMENT

• electric kitchen scales
• sieve
• stand mixer with whisk attachment
• metal tablespoon
• metal spatula

METHOD

1. Sift the sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer.
2. Mix on a low speed, slowly adding one tablespoon of water at a time.

If you add too much water at the start, you may end up with a really runny icing. The consistency you are looking for when making this icing is thick like honey, so the slower you add the water, the easier this is to monitor. You may find that you don‘t need to use the all the water. If you find that the water is not enough, add some more — again in a controlled way, adding a little at a time.

3. Once you feel the mixture has the right consistency, turn the mixer up to high speed for 2 minutes, add a little capful of flavouring (if using) and a drop of colour to make the icing the lightest shade of the colours you are going to create.
4. If your donuts are still warm, pop them in the freezer on a wire rack for

12 minutes so they get really cold before you start dipping them in the icing. This helps the glaze set quickly and gives a more polished look. To achieve an ombre look on the donuts, dip a donut into the bowl of icing so it is halfway in, not completely submerged. Apply a tiny bit of pressure then be gentle when removing. You may want to use a small metal spatula to help lift it until you get the hang of it. Repeat with a few more.

5. Once you have iced a few donuts in the first shade of colour, simply add a drop more of the same colouring to the icing, whisk in well, then ice a few more donuts. Tint the icing darker still, then ice a few more. Continue until the icing is used up.
6. If you find that your icing is getting a little dry, add a small amount of water to the icing and whisk for a few seconds.

Basic Meringues

MAKES: 60 eeni mini meringues or 8 dessert-sized portions
PREP TIME: 5 minutes BAKING TIME: 20 minutes with a further
40 minutes drying in the oven

INGREDIENTS

• 2 egg whites
• 110 g (33/4 oz/1/2 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• flavoured extract or essence such as vanilla or strawberry (optional)
• a drop of AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste food colouring (optional)

EQUIPMENT

• 2 baking trays
• baking paper
• stand mixer with whisk attachment
• electric kitchen scales
• piping (icing) bag with pipe tip (see page 167 for suggestions)
• 2 wire racks

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 100°C (200°F) fan-forced (FF).
2. Line two trays with baking paper.
3. Using a stand mixer on high speed, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.
4. Reduce the speed to a medium setting and, using a tablespoon, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is added and the mixture is smooth and glossy.
5. Add the vinegar, the flavouring and the food colouring, if using. Whisk as before, on high speed for 3–5 minutes, or until the meringue has doubled in volume and the mixture is shiny.
6. Using a piping bag and piping tip of your choice, pipe a couple of dots directly onto the baking tray and place the baking paper on top. This will ensure that the baking paper doesn’t move around.
7. If making eeni mini meringues, pipe 60 small rounds of meringue evenly onto your baking trays. Place the trays in the oven for 20 minutes.
8. After 20 minutes, turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for a further 40 minutes.
9. When the time is up, remove the meringues from the oven, leave on the tray to cool for 10 minutes then carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Images and recipes from I’m Just Here For Dessert by Caroline Khoo (Murdoch Books RRP $39.99)