Honey Glazed Vanilla Crullers Recipes

FRENCH HONEY CRULLERS

Steps:

• For the French Crullers: In a heavy bottom sauce pan (preferable nonstick), bring the water, butter, sugar, pumpkin spice and salt to a brisk boil. Immediately add in the flour and whisk until it's completely incorporated. Keep stirring over the heat, but keep it at a low/medium. Remove as much moisture as possible for a fluffier pastry later on. I did this for about 3 - 4 minutes. Then, transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer. Use the paddle attachment to stir the dough for a minute to quickly cool down the dough. Turn the speed to medium and add one egg at a time. Don't add the next egg until the first one is completely mixed. Repeat the process with the remaining egg. Add one egg white and blend until the dough becomes smooth and glossy, if it's not getting smooth and glossy, add the other egg white. If it starts to become glossy with just 1 egg white, don't add the second. Transfer dough to a large pastry bag with a large star tip. Preheat your oil to 370 degrees in a deep saucepan. Cut about 16 3x3 squares out of parchment paper. Spray each square (one side) with butter nonstick spray. Pipe a ring of dough onto each square. Place cruller and paper into hot oil. The paper will automatically separate from the oil, and the cruller will float on the hot oil, bubbling away. Flip cruller once, and fry until light brown (about 2-3 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.
• Make the glaze: Combine all the honey glaze ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. When crullers are cold to the touch, dip each top half of the doughnut into the glaze. Let glaze harden with a cookie sheet under the wire rack to catch the drippings. When the glaze has hardened re-dip for a thicker glaze, if you prefer. If you run out of glaze just make more. French Honey Crullers taste best served on the same day. Store remaining crullers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

FRENCH CRULLERS

Steps:

• 1. Place the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a brisk boil over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated. Continue to cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes to steam away as much water as possible. The more moisture you can remove, the more eggs you can add later and the lighter your pastry will be. The mixture is ready when a thin film coats the bottom of the pan.
• 2. Move the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Although you can mix the pâte à choux by hand, this can be rather arduous, so use a mixer if you have one. Stir the mixture for about 1 minute to allow it to cool. Then mix on medium speed and add the first egg. Let it mix in completely and then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, and mix in completely. Add the egg whites, a little at a time, until the paste becomes smooth and glossy and will hold a slight peak when pinched with your fingers. Be careful not to add too much egg white or your crullers will become heavy. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star piping tip.
• 3. To fry the crullers, heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-fat thermometer registers 370°F. While the oil is heating, cut out twelve 3-by-3-inch squares of parchment paper and lightly grease them. Pipe a ring onto each square. When the oil is hot, place one cruller at a time in the oil, paper side up. Remove the paper with tongs. Fry on each side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel for at least 1 minute. Once cool to the touch, the crullers can be glazed.
• Crullers also bake very well, although they will have slightly firmer crusts than the fried versions. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe the crullers onto it, at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, open the oven door slightly and let the crullers sit in the cooling oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove, dip in glaze, and cool on a rack until the glaze has set.
• Beignets, the classic New Orleans fried dough treats, use this same batter and are even easier to prepare. Simply drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the batter into the oil. As the dough puffs, the beignets will turn themselves over-but keep an eye on them and flip any that need a little help.

FRENCH CRULLERS

Steps:

• For the crullers: Fill a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with 3 inches of vegetable oil. Heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 340 to 350 degrees F.
• To make the roux, combine the butter, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low then add the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until all the water evaporates and the roux forms a tight ball, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the roux to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at the second lowest speed until the roux is lukewarm, about 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and vanilla bean paste in a medium bowl.
• Reduce the mixer speed to the lowest speed. Add the eggs in 2 batches to the roux, scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the orange zest and mix on the second lowest speed until the pâte à choux is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the pâte à choux to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
• Cut parchment paper into twelve 3-inch squares. Lightly grease the parchment squares with nonstick cooking spray then place them, greased-side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Pipe a ring of pâte à choux onto each parchment square.
• Working in batches of 4 parchment squares and making sure the oil is between 340 to 350 degrees F for each batch, place the piped pâte à choux into the hot oil with the parchment paper facing up. The parchment squares will immediately release from the pâte à choux. Once they do, remove the parchment squares from the oil with tongs and discard.
• Fry the crullers until golden brown all around, about 4 minutes on one side, then flip and fry the second side about 3 minutes.
• Remove the crullers to a glazing rack set in the rimmed baking sheet and allow to drain and cool completely.
• For the glaze: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, honey and milk in a small bowl until smooth.
• Dip one side of each cooled cruller into the glaze then return it, glazed-side up, to the glazing rack. Allow the glaze to set. Serve the crullers the same day.

ROASTED VANILLA & HONEY CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Split the vanilla pod, scrape out and reserve the seeds, and put the pod on a baking tray. Roast until dried and brittle, about 15 mins, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
• Pour the honey into a saucepan and gently heat until it starts to caramelise. Pour in the cream and reserved vanilla seeds, return to the boil and whisk to dissolve the honey. Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 20 mins. Crush the roasted vanilla pod into a fine powder using a pestle and mortar, then stir through the honey mixture.
• Return the mixture to the heat and bring to the boil. Whisk, then remove from the heat and gradually pour the mixture over the egg, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 86C on a cooking thermometer or has thickened to a smooth custard. Pass the custard through a fine sieve and leave to cool slightly. Pour into a blender and blitz for 30 seconds or until smooth. Strain into a small dish, then put in the fridge to chill overnight.
• Sprinkle over the sugar and caramelise with a kitchen blowtorch, then serve with the shortbread on the side.