Time: 3.5 hours

Serves: 9 donuts

The Donuts

150ml milk, warm

7gm dried yeast

50gm caster sugar

80ml thickened cream

1 egg

3 strong dashes Angostura bitters

Pinch of salt

400gm plain flour

50gm rom temperature butter, cubed

2 litres canola oil

In a stand mixer bowl add in milk, yeast and sugar and using a fork agitate the mix before letting it to sit for 5 minutes to foam. Add in cream, egg, bitters and salt and using a stand mixer with hook attachment bring wet mixture together for a minute or until homogenous. Add in the plain flour and using hook attachment place stand mixer on low setting allowing mixture to come together, and once flour is incorporated (about 4 minutes) and in the butter one cube at a time until all incorporated. Bring stand mixer to medium speed and knead dough for about 10 - 12 minutes or until dough easily comes away from the sides and forms a ball at the bottom. Remove dough from hook and using a bench scraper, drop the scraper along the ball of dough as you move it along and clean bench. This helps bring the dough together as a smooth ball. Do this until you’re happy with he smoothness and place in clean bowl, cover with tea towel and leave in warm spot for 60 minutes.

Once dough had proved place onto light floured bench and roll the dough out to about a nail in thickness. You should be able to get seven donuts from it using a 9cm round pastry cutter. Gently mark the donuts before cutting down, given the cutter a little swivel before removing. With the cut off push into a bowl kneading a little bit just to make sure it all connected before rolling out again to create two more donuts for nine all up (these ones won’t be perfect, but they taste just as great once fried).

Prep a tray with 9 cut pieces of baking paper and place the round dough on each one. Place tray in warm spot and leave to rise for 1 hour. 

<in this hour prep the bitters jam>

Once hour is nearing the end, place canola oil in large pot and bring the temperature up to 170 degrees celicus. Once donuts have finished second rise, add them into the oil 3 at a time. When the donuts hit the oil you want a gentle small bubbling and a little puff, nothing too intense as you need to donut cooked through. Fry the donuts for 3 minutes on each side before removing and placing on plate lined with paper towel. Repeat process until all donuts are fried.

<in this space prep the bitters glaze>

Once donuts are cool enough to touch, using a two chopsticks push a hole into the side and wiggle it around to create a hole in the middle. Add in the bitters jam, by piping it into the middle and allowing the jam to come close the surface, but don’t overfill as it will fall out.

Once donuts are filled, one by one dunk on side of the donut into the bitters glaze, covering before lifting, allowing the excess to drip off and then swishing up so that glaze stays on top. Place down and allow the glaze too cool and set.

Bitters Jam

300gm strawberry & ginger jam*

5-6 strong dashes Angostura bitters

*feel free to use store bought jam in any berry flavour you like.

Prep a piping bag with a star tip (will help puncture the donut to get the jam in) and place in pint glass ready for jam. In a bowl mix together jam and bitters until smooth and combined and pour into piping bag. Place in fridge to be ready to pipe later on.

Bitters Glaze

350gm confectioners icing sugar

50 dashes bitters Angostura bitters

4 table spoons boiling water

In a large bowl add sugar and bitters and whisk together until it resembles light orange sand. Add in the boiling water and whisk all together. Add more boiling water for a more classic see through ‘Kripsy Kreme’ style glaze which will help melt the sugar with less bite, or keep the 4 table spoons ratio for a thicker glaze that will keep more structure on the donut and allow for too the bitters spicy flavour in.