Crispy Cream Doughnuts - Eggless

Doughnuts are a relatively new baked good to us. It is not available at a local bakery and one would have to go to specialized stores to find it. But with yeast in hand, we can bring the specialty store home and that is exactly what this recipe did to us.
Recipe Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients
Original recipe makes 18 doughnuts:

2 teaspoons - instant dry yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup curd (this was substituted for 2 eggs)
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

For the Sugar Glaze
1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

For the Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup cooking chocolate finely chopped
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp butter

Method

In a large bowl, mix together the yeast, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. 

Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.

Sugar Glaze
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
Chocolate Glaze
Heat water in a saucepan. Place a heat proof bowl over the saucepan. Let the water in the saucepan not touch the bowl. Place the chocolate, butter and milk in the bowl. As the heat reaches the bowl, slowly stir with a spoon until the chocolate melts and becomes a smooth paste.

Frying doughnuts Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. 

Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. 

Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Verdict: My little girl warms up to new stuff after a couple of tries. But these doughnuts were an immediate hit with her. They tasted divine.

Jam-swirled muffins - Eggless Baking Challenge June, 2013

Weekends come and go. There is so much domestic stuff to be taken care of. Laundry, finding the kid's stationary, getting her to complete her homework, cooking up something delicious to get her to eat properly. These take preference... and by the time that long pending curry you wanted to make for rotis is made and you have successfully made her eat a couple of spoonfuls of it, you realize that the weekend is already over. Pantry clearance is the last on the list. And sometimes, the monthly challenges from baking groups misses the list. In this rigmarole, I was late for last month's challenge. Unable to do much about my weekend routine, I was hoping this month's challenge will be something simpler to bake.

Thank you Priya for choosing a simple yet delicious recipe for this month's challenge. If it had been something like a Tiramisu I would have had to skip this months challenge too...

As always I will present the original recipe first.

Recipe Source: Technicolor Kitchen

Jam swirled muffins

Adapted from Dorie's lemon poppy seed muffins

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (133g) caster sugar
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
/3 cup jam of your choice – if too thick, thin it with a little lemon juice

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; butter or spray 12 regular size muffin pans.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and mix. In a large glass measuring cup or small bowl whisk together the yogurt, eggs, vanilla and melted butter until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk lightly with a fork – do not overmix the batter, otherwise you’ll end up with tough muffins.

Add the jam and whisk lightly, to keep the marbled effect. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, cool 5 minutes, then carefully unmold. Let cool completely on the wire rack.

Now for the eggless version:

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (133g) caster sugar
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt (originally 3/4 cup of yogurt, add 1/2 cup to substitute two eggs, I added 1/4 cup more for the consistency)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup Nutella

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; butter or spray 12 - 16 regular size muffin molds.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and mix. In a large glass measuring cup or small bowl whisk together the yogurt, vanilla and melted butter until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk lightly with a fork – do not overmix the batter, otherwise you’ll end up with tough muffins. 

Whisk the nutella vigorously with a fork to loosen it up. Add the nutella to the muffin batter and whisk lightly, to keep the marbled effect.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, cool 5 minutes, then carefully unmold. Let cool completely on the wire rack.

Verdict: If you are wondering about the empty silicone mold in the above picture, here is the answer. The muffins had barely cooled down, and the little girl was munching away at one.