Vegan raisin doughnuts with sticky toffee glaze

Hey ho! Hope all you Americans had a great Thanksgiving, and for those of you outside the lands of freedom and doughnut burgers, well, I don’t know what to tell you. Speaking of doughnuts, I have some of those for you today.

Convenient, isn’t it?

I’mma keep this short and sweet (don’t I always say that? and then it is never true?) because, as I explained, there is writing to be done. December 17^th is the deadline for those 50 pages of perfection, so my squishy doughnut-filled ass needs to stay more squarely in the writing chair and less in the OMGinternet chair between now and then lest I find myself failing at yet another self-inflicted challenge.

Ah, yes. Writing. source

In the meantime, I have made you another delightful pastry. Yay! Keep down your shouts of praise, now, can’t hear myself think—and I’ll have you know that this doughnut recipe, like that other apple cider one, is from the ever-fabulous cookbook entitled Vegan Desserts. The original recipe uses dates, not raisins, but I didn’t have dates on hand and was far too lazy to venture out of the house (what, you think that I should actually step outside for once?! nonsense!) in pursuit of that particular ingredient, so I substituted raisins. Whatever. Sue me.

But I think the finished product is awesome enough to make up for it. Even if a lot of those raisins were burned to a crisp.

Mmm...blackened shriveled-up grapes...my favorite!

The effect is that of a traditional sticky toffee pudding, chewy and slightly spiced and stuffed with dried fruit and, well, sticky. The glaze is a necessity. You’ve really got to grab those doughnuts with tongs and smash them in there. Gently, of course. You get the picture.

Dare I say these would be perfect for Christmas morning? Yes, I do dare.

Here’s the recipe.

                                                                         

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Vegan sticky raisin doughnuts with toffee glaze

Adapted from Vegan Desserts

Ingredients

Toffee glaze

56 grams • nondairy margarine • ¼ cup

220 grams • dark brown sugar • 1 cup

100 grams • granulated sugar • ½ cup

250 grams • full-fat coconut milk • 1 cup

2 grams • vanilla extract • ½ teaspoon

Pinch salt

Raisin doughnuts

185 grams • nondairy milk • ¾ cup

74 grams • dark brown sugar, packed • 1/3 cup

7 grams • active dry yeast • ¼ ounce

440 to 500 grams • all-purpose flour • 3 ½ to 4 cups

2 grams • ground ginger • 1 ½ teaspoons

4 grams • salt • ¾ teaspoon

220 grams • raisins • 1 ½ cups

170 grams • nondairy yogurt • 6 ounces

42 grams • coconut oil, melted • 3 tablespoons

About 1 gallon canola oil for frying

Instructions

Start by making the glaze. In a medium saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat, and then add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and coconut milk. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low once it reaches a rapid bubble. Let simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes until thickened slightly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Pour glaze in a medium bowl and let cool to room temperature.

To make the doughnuts, start by bringing milk to body temperature (about 100 degrees F) in a saucepan or in the microwave. Whisk in brown sugar and sprinkle yeast on top. Let proof for about 5 to 10 minutes until bubbly.

In the meantime, whisk together 440 grams / 3 ½ cups flour, ginger, and salt in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add raisins; toss to coat with flour and evenly distribute. Once the yeast is proofed, pour in the yeast mixture along with the yogurt and melted coconut oil. Knead with dough hook on low speed until fully incorporated. If the dough still seems very sticky, add more flour, one spoonful at a time. Continue to knead for another 4 to 6 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for about one hour, or until it has doubled in size.

Turn risen dough out onto a well-floured surface; sprinkle more flour on top of the dough blob. Roll out to about ¼ to ½ inch in thickness. Cut out 2 to 2 ½ inch-diameter doughnuts (with a ½ to 1 inch hole in the center, if desired). Transfer cut doughnuts to a lightly greased piece of parchment paper for another 30 minutes to rise.

In the meantime, prepare the oil. Set out a wire rack with parchment paper underneath it for draining doughnuts. Using a very large and heavy pot with high sides, preheat oil to 360 to 375 degrees F over medium-high heat. Be prepared to adjust the temperature of the oil while frying.

Once doughnuts are all set and the oil has come to its proper temperature, carefully lower raw doughnuts into the oil using a slotted spoon or other such tool. Only fry about 3 to 4 doughnuts at a time, depending on the size of your pot. The first side of the doughnuts should take about 60 seconds, and the second side about 30 to 60 seconds. Set finished doughnuts on prepared wire rack to drain.

Let doughnuts cool for at least 5 minutes before dunking in prepared toffee glaze. Serve ASAP.

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Yay, more pics in unnatural lighting with burnt raisins sticking out the sides!

Between these and the two other doughnut recipes I’ve made, I think I’ve got this doughnut thing down. Expect to see more soon. Maybe some with pumpkin. Ya know, cos bitches love pumpkin.