This week Saints Row IV comes out and I found it only appropriate to create a treat from the series. The Saints Row series continues to escalate in insanity and ridiculous game play. The character progression is the one thing I really love and it seems Saints Row IV is taking that to the next level with the introduction of super human powers. Instead of relying on an airplane to get you from place to place, you can just up and fly around. I can only imagine the madness that will ensue in multiplayer games. Instead of playing tag with cars I’m sure we will be trying to catch each other in the air and knocking each other to the ground. Of course the thing I’m looking forward to is seeing how whacky the story is going to get. I’ve seen a few preview videos of the game and I do not think I will be disappointed.
This week’s recipe we will be taking a look at the delicious donut. While doing research and trying to figure out how to create these I had to make a decision between baking or frying these. It came down to what would represent the soul of the game the best, so we are frying! The recipe does require a bit of prep work but the actual cooking time of each of these is minutes. I recommend saving a recipe like this for the weekends because you are going to need to give the dough at least three hours total of resting time. The base for these donuts can honestly be used with any topping but today we are focusing on the classic chocolate-glazed donut.
Required Equipment: Bowl, Deep Pot, Donut Cutting Ring, Stand Mixer (Optional), Mesh Spoon
Servings: 16 donuts and 20 donut holes
Ingredients:
Donuts:
– 1 cup milk
– ¼ cup + 1 tbsp sugar
– 2 ¼ tsp yeast
– 3 cups flour
– ½ tsp salt
– 1 egg
– 2 tbsp melted butter
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze:
– 1 stick of butter
– ¼ cup milk
– 1 1/4 cup chocolate
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
– Peanut Oil for frying
Warm the milk in the microwave. You want the milk to be about lukewarm and not boiling hot. This is very important because if the milk is too hot you will kill the yeast and the dough will never rise. Once the milk is warmed sprinkle in the yeast and 1 tbsp spoon of sugar and stir thoroughly. Allow this to rest for 5 minutes, the yeast should begin to froth up and become active.
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients together for the donuts. I started by mixing the dry and then adding all the wet at once. I used my hands to blend everything together.
Once everything is combined, knead the dough for 8 minutes (I used a stand mixer with the dough hook – makes my life easier). After kneading, remove the dough from the bowl and spray with some nonstick spray and place the dough back into the bowl. Cover and allow the dough to rest for at least 2 hours, it should double in size.
After it has risen take the dough and punch it down. Roll it out to about ¼ of an inch in thickness.
Take your donut cutter (or in my case a cookie cutter and the cap from my vegetable oil) and begin to cut the donuts. You will have to roll the scraps of dough up and reroll in order to make more donuts. I did this about 4 times.
Place the donuts and donut holes on a piece of parchment paper and then cover with a kitchen towel. Allow this to rest for another hour, allowing the donuts to rise.
In a deep pot, heat about 2 to 3 inches of peanut oil to 350°F. While the oil is heating up, begin making the chocolate glaze. In a saucepan, place the milk, butter, and vanilla extract. Heat this up and once warmed, turn off the heat and add the chocolate.
When the chocolate is completely melted begin adding the powdered sugar. Mix until smooth. Place the glaze to the side; it is time to start frying some doughnuts.
These will be cooking very quickly, probably about 1-2 minutes total. Place three doughnuts in and watch them. Once the bottom side browns, flip it and allow that side to brown.
Place the cooked donuts on a plate covered with paper towels. This will help soak up any extra oil. Allow them to cool. Once I finished cooking all the donuts I began to cover them in frosting.
Depending on how long you left the chocolate frosting cooling you might need to give it a stir if it has hardened at all. Take a donut and place it about halfway into the chocolate frosting. When lifting the donut out, give it a little twist to cover it completely in chocolate.
