Jelly Donuts (Vegan)

Don't have a vegan donut shop near you? Donut fear, I'm here to help! (Harhar...sorry.) Anyhow, these donuts are absolutely fluffy and perfect, and I've included a chocolate-filled version for your consideration as well.

Jelly Donuts

Recipe adapted from Laura in the Kitchen's Jelly Donut Recipe

Makes about 8 - 10 donuts, depending on the size of your cutter

INGREDIENTS

- 3/4 cup unsweetened plant milk of your choice

- 1 envelope / 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

- 34 grams (slightly less than 3 tablespoons) granulated sugar

- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

- 1/4 cup / 57 grams vegan butter or shortening, melted

- 1/4 teaspoon salt (use heaping 1/4 teaspoon if using unsalted shortening)

- Egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg (I used Ener-G)

- About 3/4 cup jelly of your choosing (you will need to sieve it if it's chunky)

- 2 cups granulated sugar (for coating)

- About 64 oz vegetable oil (for frying)

METHOD

1. Measure your milk into a microwave-safe dish, then microwave in 15-second increments to get it to about 110 - 115 F. Mix in about a teaspoon of sugar, then stir in the yeast, and set aside for about 5 - 10 minutes until foamy.

2. Combine sugar, egg replacer, salt, and melted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the milk and yeast and stir to combine.

3. Add in the flour, and use a dough hook to mix on medium low speed until the dough is completely combined and smooth, about 5 minutes. You may need to finish off kneading by hand if the dough hook is tearing your dough up too much. Place dough into a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size. This took my dough 2.5 hours total, but my kitchen is fairly cool, so yours may go faster.

4. Sprinkle a cookie sheet with flour, then turn your dough onto a lightly floured surface. Punch it down, then roll out until it's a little less than 1/2" thick. Use a round cookie or biscuit cutter (anywhere from 3 - 3.75" is probably fine - mine was 3.75") to cut out donuts, and place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Smush, reroll, and cut out scraps. Cover your prepared donuts with a clean kitchen towel, and let them rise until doubled again (30 - 45 minutes).

5. Assemble supplies for frying - line a cookie sheet with a couple layers of paper towels and set to one side. Pour 2 cups granulated sugar into a pie dish or other wide dish and keep it nearby. Place a candy thermometer into a dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot and secure it. Make sure that both the thermometer and pot are completely dry, or water will pop while the oil is heating and potentially splatter. Now, fill the pot with at least 3" oil so that it covers the thermometer, and heat the oil to about 350 F. Keep an eye on your oil as you fry, and try to keep the temperature between 350 - and 375 to avoid cooking the donuts too quickly or slowly.

6. Using a flat spatula, carefully lower 3 or 4 donuts at a time into the oil and cook until they are a nice medium brown color, then flip and repeat on the other side, about 2 minutes per side (image of color below). Place onto your paper towel covered cookie sheet once cooked.

7. Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, toss them in the granulated sugar. Use a skewer to poke a hole in the side of each donut and wiggle it around a bit to open things up. Fit a piping bag with a round tip and fill with your sieved jam. Insert the tip into the hole you made and pipe in as much jam as you can fit. Donuts overflowing with jam are the best, and I wish you luck in not binge-eating all of these in a single sitting.

These donuts are best on the day they are made, but still pretty darn tasty on day 2 if you keep them in an airtight container.

This was my frying situation - look at that perfect brown color! If you have a door to your kitchen, I recommend closing it while frying, as hot oil smells terrible and will pervade your whole house (WORTH IT).

...oh, were you interested in this chocolate variation too? Read on for details.

Chocolate Hazelnut Filled Donuts

Follow directions for jelly-filled donuts up to step 6.

FILLING

- Whatever vegan chocolate hazelnut spread you like

--> My preferred brand is Nocciolata, but Justin's is easy to find and pretty tasty

--> Alternately, if you have hazelnuts and chocolate on hand, you can make Minimalist Baker's Easy Vegan Nutella

SHINY CHOCOLATE GLAZE

(half this recipe if you are doing half jelly / half chocolate donuts)

INGREDIENTS

- 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) powdered sugar

- 4 tablespoons (27 grams) cocoa powder

- 2 tablespoons unsweetened plant-based milk of your choice

- 2 teaspoons vanilla

METHOD

7. Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then pour in the liquids slowly, whisking as you go until you get quite a runny glaze. If you need more liquid, add in more milk 1 teaspoon at a time.

ASSEMBLY

8. If you have a fairly thin chocolate spread, you can melt it a bit in the microwave before transferring to a piping bag and pipe it into the donuts (using a skewer to first poke a hole into the donuts). If you followed the Minimalist Baker recipe though, piping is not an option, in which case you should cut the donuts in half with a serrated knife.

9. Dip top half of donuts in glaze, fill bottom half with spread, then assemble and set aside for the glaze to set. Top with sprinkles before glaze sets, if desired.

#donuts #doughnuts #vegandonuts #jellydonuts