Mini Apple Doughnuts with Cinnamon Glaze

Sometimes, all you need in life is a fluffy doughnut and a hot coffee.

These little balls of loveliness have a crunchy, sweet crust with a spongy, fruity inside that tastes so good! A must have remedy for a cold, grey Sunday.

Makes 30 doughnuts: 

500g strong white bread flour

50g caster sugar (plus 1 tbsp to sweeten the apples)

40g unsalted butter (plus a little extra for frying the apples)

2 eggs

14g instant yeast

10g salt

150ml warm whole milk

130ml warm water

2 tsp cinnamon

3 Bramley apples

For the Glaze:

70g  unsalted butter

300g powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

4 tbsp whole milk

1. Place the flour, sugar, butter, eggs, yeast, salt, milk and three quarters of the water into a large bowl.
2. Stick your hands into the bowl to mix and form into a dough.
3. Slowly add the leftover water and knead the dough in the bowl for four minutes, or mix with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
4. Tip it onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Place the dough into a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for an hour.
6. Meanwhile, peal and chop the apples into 5mm cubes and fry in a knob of butter in a wide pan for 2 minutes until they just start to turn brown. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp caster sugar.
7. Drain the apple in a sieve and cover with a little flour to soak up any excess moisture.
8. Tip the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface, and knock it back by kneading it a few times.
9. Roll the dough out into a rectangle and sprinkle over the cinnamon and apple chunks.
10. Fold in the edges of the dough so that the apple pieces are contained. Knead the apple and cinnamon into the dough so that they are evenly distributed.
11. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and then divide each of the 10 shapes into 3 balls, to give you 30 pieces.
12. Place all balls onto a floured baking tray and leave to rise for an hour.
13. Preheat a large pan, filled with sunflower oil, to 180C/350F.
14. Lower each doughnut into the fryer, cooking each side for about three minutes or until golden brown. Remove the doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside.
15. To make the glaze, melt the butter and stir in the icing sugar, cinnamon and vanilla bean paste until smooth. Add the milk until the desired consistency is reached. It should be runny, but still thick enough to cover the doughnuts well.
16. Once the doughnuts have cooled down enough to touch, dip into the glaze and transfer them to a cooling rack to remove any excess.

Monkey Buns

These delicious pull-apart rolls are smothered in butter, sugar and cinnamon before they go in the oven to make them golden and crunchy on top, yet glistening and sticky on the bottom.

My mum used to surprise us on Sunday mornings with these. Waking my brother and I up to the smell of sugary, buttery goodness, we’d saunter to the kitchen in our pyjamas, wide-eyed and wide-mouthed.

The recipe is originally from Canada so uses cups as measurement which is super easy.

Makes 20 buns.

For the dough:

1/2 cup of milk

2 tbsp water

1 large egg

1 tbsp butter

1tsp salt

2 1/4 cups plain flour

4 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp dried yeast

1tsp cinnamon

For the sugar and cinnamon coating:

1/2 cup sugar

1tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp melted butter

1. Mix together the milk, water, egg, 1 tbsp butter, salt, flour, 4tsp sugar, 1tsp cinnamon and 1 1/2 tsp yeast to form a sticky dough. Remove from the bowl to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, collecting a little flour as you go to make it easier to handle. It’s a really soft dough so don’t panic if you find it sticky. If you find it’s really glued to the worktop, use two spatulas to make it less tricky. 
2. Once the dough is smooth and elastic, put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour.
3. When the dough has almost doubled in size, remove from the bowl and knead the air out. Divide into 20 equal-sized balls.
4. Stir the 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon together. Dip the balls into the 3 tbsp butter and then roll into the sugar mixture. Each ball should be coated liberally.
5. Arrange half of the balls into the bottom of a greased 25cm diameter ring mould before positioning the remaining shimmering globules on top, carefully filling in the gaps to make a complete doughy ring.
6. Drizzle the balls with any remaining butter and sprinkle on any leftover sugar and cinnamon. Cover again with a damp tea towel and leave in warm place for 30 to 40 minutes until the dough has nearly doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Leave to cool for a minute before tipping out the sweet, sticky ring onto a serving plate. Eat straight away.

White Chocolate and Strawberry Truffles

Typical Valentine’s chocolates can be a mundane present that a boyfriend buys on his lunch break at work – at a loss as to what else to get for his girlfriend – easily obtainable whilst in the M&S sandwich queue.

These pretty droplets of yumness require a similar amount of time to prepare (minus the cooling time) as a lunch break but are so much more fanciful.

Truffle filling:

200g white chocolate

85g unsalted butter

3 and a half tbsp double cream

Pinch of salt

3 tsp freeze-dried strawberries (for instance, Cake Professional Dried Strawberries, available from Waitrose)

Truffle coating:

400g white chocolate

2 tsp freeze-dried strawberries

A few cocktail sticks

Method:

1. Fill a saucepan with 3 inches of water and place on a medium heat. In a glass bowl, add the chocolate, cream, butter and salt. Place the glass bowl on top of the saucepan, being careful that it doesn’t touch the water, and heat the mixture gently whilst stirring, until the chocolate melts and the mixture become smooth and glossy.
2. Take the bowl out of the saucepan and off the heat. Add the 3 tsp of dried strawberries and mix well. Cover the bowl with cling-film and refrigerate for about two hours, until the mixture is firm enough to scoop.
3. Use a teaspoon to scoop little balls that measure 2cm – about the size of a Brussels sprout. Lay the little globules on greaseproof paper and put back in the fridge for one hour. This step is crucial as you want the truffles to be really cool for dipping into the chocolate later.
4. Melt the remaining 400g of chocolate, either over a saucepan of water on the hob as before, or in the microwave for about 1 and a half minutes. Take the truffles out of the fridge and using a cocktail stick, carefully pick up one-by-one and dip into the chocolate, smothering it completely.
5. Lay the enveloped balls on to greaseproof paper and quickly dust with the remaining dried strawberries, before the coating sets. Leave the truffles at room temperature for two hours and package in cellophane bags, tied with red ribbon or in a cardboard box lined with tissue paper.

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