daring baker doughnuts!

mmmm.... doughnuts... daring baker doughnuts... delish-ious doughnuts... so good i could go nuts... alright i'm done with the corniness, i promise... so... it's that time of month... the daring bakers reveal... this month was hosted by hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up , and i was so excited to hop on this train... i love doughnuts, and this gave me a excuse to pull out my dutch over, heat up some frying oil and get popping!

what was great about this months challenge is that we were allowed to choose from a variety of doughnut recipes, from yeast doughnuts, buttermilk doughnuts, and even some yummy sounding pumpkin doughnuts... i opted for the yeast doughnuts, some topped with a smear of creamcheese frosting, and some slathered in chocolate mascarpone, and filled with kahlua mascarpone cream... mmmmm.... yummm....

yeast doughnuts:
yield: 20 to 25 doughnuts & 20 to 25 doughnut holes, depending on size

ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup shortneing( you can substitute butter, margarine or lard)
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
2 lrg eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
4 2/3 cup flour, plus extra for dusting surface
oil for frying, you want 3inches of oil

directions:
1. place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening, (make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter)
2. place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over, set aside
3. 1n a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes (it should get foamy) After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm
4. add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour
5. using the paddle attachment of your mixer, combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined
6. add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well
7. change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky
8. transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
9. on a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch thick, (make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter)
10. cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch doughnut cutter or pastry ring
11. set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes
12. preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365
13. gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (pay very clos attentions!)
14. transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan, and then allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing and/or filling

i wish i had a picture of the filling oozing out of these... but they didn't last after the first photo shoot... but i promise you, they were filled to capacity... i think i was to excited to get them finished so i could gobble them up, that i wasn't paying attention when squeezing the cream into them...

happy baking everyone!