Lemon Fried Donuts Recipes

LEMON FILLED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, water, sugar, evaporated milk, salt, shortening, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in 2 cups of the flour and knead on a medium-low speed with a dough hook until well combined. Slowly add in the remaining flour until a nice dough ball forms. Dough should be wet, but should not stick to your fingers or the sides of the bowl.
• Spray a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and let rise 1 1/2 hours.
• Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Use a drinking glass or round cookie cutter to punch out 12 donuts, re-rolling the dough as necessary to get a dozen donuts and use almost all of the dough. Let rise another 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the shortening for frying in a large pot to about 350 degrees. Be sure to use enough so that it is 1-inch deep. While the shortening is coming to temperature, make the glaze in a medium-size mixing bowl by whisking together melted butter, powdered sugar, pinch salt, 2 tsp evaporated milk, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Add in water 1 tsp at a time until it is just thin enough to dip something in easily. It shouldn't be runny, but it shouldn't be thick either.
• Fry the donuts a few at a time until golden brown, flipping halfway through. It is helpful to do a test donut to ensure that the donut gets cooked through. Transfer the donuts to a wire rack covered with a layer of paper towels. Let cool for 1 to 2 minutes then dip the top of the donut into the glaze and place it back on the wire rack.
• Once all of the donuts have been fried, fill a piping bag with the lemon curd, like you would with frosting. Using a wide-mouth tip, insert the tip into the side of the doughnuts one at a time, squeezing to fill with 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon curd per donut.

LEMON FRIED DONUTS

Steps:

• Set a medium saucepan with water to simmer. In a small heatproof bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, sugar and eggs until well combined.
• Add in the butter pieces and set the bowl over the simmering pot of water. Whisk the mixture continuously (don't ever stop whisking!!) while cooking until it's thick, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and pass the curd through a fine-mesh sieve. Cover the curd with plastic wrap, directly on the curd and let cool. Chill for a few hours or overnight.
• In a small bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Mix until yeast dissolves and let stand for 5-10 minutes until foamy. (If yeast is not foamy, do not continue. Start again with new yeast and save yourself the heartbreak.)
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the hook attachment, mix the flour, milk, butter, egg yolks, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and yeast mixture on low speed until dough comes together. Knead dough for 3-5 minutes until elastic and smooth. (Alternatively, mix the ingredients in a medium bowl with a wooden spatula until dough comes together. Turn dough onto a well floured surface and knead for 7 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.)
• Transfer dough into a lightly oiled large bowl and sprinkle lightly with flour to prevent a crust from forming. Cover the bowl loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise until double in size, about 2 hours in a draft-free place at room temperature. (Alternatively, you can let dough rise in refrigerator for 8-12 hours or overnight).
• Lightly flour a surface and turn out the dough. Roll dough out to about half-inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter (mine was 3-inches in diameter), cut out as many rounds as possible. Transfer the donuts to a lightly flour baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet loosely with a kitchen towel and let donuts rise at room temperature until slightly puffed, about 30-45 minutes. (Don't re-roll the scraps. You can fry them up if you like)
• When ready to fry, heat up the vegetable oil in a deep heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. The oil should be at least 2 ½ inches. If you like you can check the oil with a thermometer, should be about 350 degrees F. This is where you need to be very CAREFUL, it's hot oil.
• Fry donuts, 3-4 at a time, until puffed and golden brown about 1-2 minutes. Make sure you turn the donuts occasionally as they fry. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
• Let donuts cool completely. To fill donuts, use a long-tipped pastry bag to poke a hole in each donut and fill with lemon curd. Roll donuts generously in granulated sugar or powdered sugar. Enjoy!