Chai sufganiyot with orange-pumpkin buttercream

And here I go again with the non-seasonal desserts. This time, we have some Hannukah doughnuts—despite the fact that it is nowhere near Hannukah, though I suppose it doesn’t matter because I posted a recipe for rugelach a few days ago. Plus, it is presently Passover, another Jewish holiday / festival / celebration.

Ah, fuck it. There’s no justifying these (quite yeasty) doughnuts. They’re barely even sufganiyot, which are deep-fried pastries filled with jelly—not orange pumpkin buttercream or whatever the hell I stuffed in these little babies. Somehow, sometime last year, I stumbled upon this recipe and was possessed with the idea that I should make them, someday in the future.

And now, in the midst of spring, I have.

Indeed.

I’ll admit; it is somewhat of an involved recipe. This is the first time I’ve made doughnuts that require rising—though not the first time I’ve made doughnuts, period—and it is a lengthy process. You even infuse the dough with a chai teabag. That’s pretty fancy if you ask me. Then, once the doughnuts are done, you whip up some buttercream to stuff them with. The result is an adorable little pastry with all kinds of complex flavors packed into a small, probably blasphemous package.

Probably should have started out with plain sufganiyot, but whatever.

Someday soon, I shall make a plain, jelly-filled sufganiyot, all vegan and sweet and delicious and wonderfully traditional. But today is not that day.

Oh, and before you check out the recipe, I should mention that a piping bag fitted with an actual tip is highly recommended. I had neither of those things on hand, and it was a bitch trying to get any filling in the doughnuts. Save yourself by equipping yourself.

Here’s the recipe.

_______

Chai sufganiyotwith orange-pumpkin buttercream

Adapted from Chow

Ingredients

Dough

374 grams • all-purpose flour • 2 ¾ cups

2 grams • cinnamon • 1 teaspoon

1 gram • cardamom • ½ teaspoon

3 grams • salt • ½ teaspoon

7 grams • active dry yeast • 2 ¼ teaspoons

55 grams • granulated sugar • ¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon

120 grams • warm water (110 degrees F) • ½ cup

1 chai teabag

80 grams • nondairy milk • 1/3 cup

6 grams • Ener-g egg replacer • 2 teaspoons

30 grams • water • 2 tablespoons

2 grams • vanilla extract • ½ teaspoon

28 grams • coconut oil, at room temperature • 2 tablespoons

Buttercream filling

54 grams • coconut oil, softened • ¼ cup

62 grams • pumpkin puree • ¼ cup

1 gram • nutmeg • ½ teaspoon

Few pinches of orange zest

240 grams • powdered sugar • 2 cups

To finish

2 quarts vegetable oil

100 grams • granulated sugar • ½ cup

Directions

Whisk together 340 grams • 2 ½ cups flour, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Coat another large bowl with cooking spray or vegetable oil and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine yeast, 5 grams • 1 teaspoon sugar, and warm water. Add tea bag and let sit until the mixture is foaming, about 5 minutes. Remove tea bag and squeeze out excess liquid back into the bowl.

Add remaining sugar, milk, egg replacer (whisked with the 30 grams • 2 tablespoons water), and vanilla to the bowl and whisk to combine. Spoon in flour and mix until the dough comes together. Add coconut oil and knead for 6 to 8 minutes in the mixer, until the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic and the coconut oil is fully incorporated. Place dough in the oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 1 ½ to 2 hours, until doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, punch down gently and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to about ¼-inch in thickness. Cut out rounds of dough about 2 to 3 inches in diameter (the size doesn’t really matter, so long as you cook the doughnuts for the appropriate amount of time). Roll out a second time and cut out as many rounds as you can. Discard the remaining scraps (they will be all worked up and turn out tough as hell). 

Arrange the dough rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap again and let rise in a warm place for about a half hour, until puffy and slightly thicker.

Meanwhile, make the buttercream filling. Combine coconut oil, pumpkin, nutmeg, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat until combined. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a ¼-inch round tip. Let sit at room temperature until needed.

Place oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Heat until temperature reaches 365 degrees F. Place a large wire rack over a sheet of parchment paper or another baking sheet for while you make the doughnuts. Stick the coating sugar in a bowl for later.

Cook doughnuts 4 at a time and fry until golden brown on each side. It should take about 2 minutes total. Transfer doughnuts to the wire rack with a slotted spoon. Roll doughnuts in sugar while they are still hot.

Once the doughnuts have cooled, puncture a hole in the side of each doughnut with a paring knife. Stick the piping bag with the buttercream into the holes and fill each doughnut with pumpkin-y orange-y deliciousness. Munch.

_________

Very attractive, eh?

I doughn’t have many fried recipes on this blog (see what I did there? I’ll show myself out), but here are a few you may enjoy.

Sticky toffee raisin doughnuts. Like sticky toffee pudding in raisin form!

Apple cider doughnuts with stewed apple pie filling. By far the most popular recipe on the blog, but only because it was (amazingly) posted to Finding Vegan’s Facebook page.

Chocolate doughnut holes with orange curd and espresso. Not the most pretty doughnuts, but super delicious.