I'm sick. Everyone in my house is sick. It's been over a week and it just seems to be getting worse. I know we'll get over it but, man, I'm sick of being sick!
But even though I feel horrible and can't breathe at all ( I have asthma and a simple cold kicks my asthma into high gear), a baker's gonna' bake!
Actually, today I fried something. I normally never fry anything. I guess it's because I grew up in Southern California and we just didn't fry stuff. I like fresh fish, never fried! I like grilled chicken, not battered and fried.
But sometimes you just have to branch out. I have made doughnuts for years but I normally bake them. They're 'healthier', right?? OK, not really. Doughnuts are doughnuts and I'm never gonna' be able to pass them off as health food.
So I asked for a fryer for Christmas and because my husband loves me and spoils me, he got me one!
**Below is an affiliate link to amazon.com. If you click on the link, I may potentially receive compensation. My review and opinion of the equipment is my own.**
Here is the fryer I had asked for. I like it for a couple of reasons. It's small, which is both good and bad. I only fried 2 to 4 doughnuts at a time which means when I left them in a little too long, I only got a few of them darker than I meant to! But that also meant that it took a while to get a couple dozen doughnuts fried up.
I used the doughnut recipe from Johnny Iuzzini's cookbook 'Sugar Rush'. I previously posted about it HERE. I decided to make some filled and some glazed since there are more people in my house who like plain glazed than filled. Actually, I'm the only who really likes filled doughnuts. So I guess those are all mine?!?!
And HERE is the dougnut cutter that I used. You can see that I shop on amazon alot, right?
So what should I fill the doughnuts with? Well, I love custard and curd and straight up super sticky jelly. But I wanted something lighter. I picked up some concentrates at Ikea last time we were there (another of my favorite shopping destinations!) and the Lingonberry has been just waiting to be used!
I decided that making some curd and then mixing it with some whipped cream for a filling would be perfect for today. Light and creamy with a sweet berry flavor.
Yum...I'm only a little embarrassed to admit that I ate a few spoonfuls of the filling before I even filled the doughnuts. And then one or two more afterwards!
And don't be afraid of making curd! It sounds weird and maybe a bit old fashioned. Some people may not have ever tasted it. But, trust me on this, once you have some fruit curd (lemon, lime, or whatever other flavor you can come up with) you'll never want to be without it. You can use it to fill cakes, drizzle on ice cream, smear on toast...And you can use my recipe for almost any flavor. Just replace the 150 mL of Lingonberry concentrate and water with 150 mL of any other type of juice you want. Acidic juices are best and will help ensure that the curd sets up nicely.
For the Lingonberry Curd
Ingredients
- 75 mL Lingonberry Concentrate (I use concentrate from Ikea)
- 75 mL water
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
- 100 grams unsalted butter (about 7 tablespoons)
- 150 grams sugar
- Red food color, optional
- Add all ingredients to a medium pot and heat on medium heat, gently stirring constantly with a whisk. Make sure to keep the mixture moving so that the eggs do not scramble.
- Once the butter is melted, cook for another 5-7 minutes, continuing to stir constantly. Once the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and you can draw a line across the spoon without the curd filling in the line, it is thick enough.
- Add about 2 drops of red food coloring. This step is optional but I prefer a pinkish red color – without the food coloring the curd is a bit brownish in color.
- Remove from heat. Pour the curd through a strainer to get out the bits of egg that are inevitable. Pour the strained curd into a jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
For the Whipped Filling
Ingredients
¾ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ cup Lingonberry Curd from above
- Pour the heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium bowl and whip with a hand mixer. Whip for about 1 minute, until it is still soft and doesn’t hold a peak yet.
- Rain in the sugar while the mixer is on and continue to whip until the cream holds a medium firm peak. Stay with your cream when you whip it – it only takes a few seconds too long to turn it into butter!
- Using a rubber spatula, fold the Lingonberry Curd into the whipped cream. You can add more or less to taste.
- Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe into doughnuts.
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