[Urbane Guerrilla]

You Can't Buy These Doughnuts

Because the shop went out of business years ago. You must make them for yourself.

"I know I can't make a convincing argument that donuts are good for you," [Mark Carter] said. "And I'm not going to try. You can't get away from fat. Donuts are fried in fat. We're not dogs; fat doesn't make our coats shinier. But fat -- good fat, good shortening like I use -- makes for a good doughnut. This is about wonderful pastry. You don't eat my donuts because of what's in them. I'm not going to try and convert the people who love Winchell's to my donuts. I just want to make a great donut. I make donuts for the people of northern California. And that means I crack eggs instead of opening a bag of mix. I melt butter. That's what they want. You can call my donuts organic, but that's too easy. That's not what I'm after."

Pancake Donut w/Frosted Maple Syrup

Ingredients: Doughnut

1/2 C [120ml] (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, softened
3/4 C [177ml] Sugar
1 tsp [5ml] Vanilla Extract
3 large Eggs
4 C [947ml] self-rising Flour
1/2 tsp [2.5ml] ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp [1.2ml] Salt
1 C [237ml] Buttermilk
1/2 gallon [2 liters] Peanut Oil or Vegetable Oil, for frying

Ingredients, Frosting:

1/2 C [120ml] (another stick) Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 C [120ml] Maple Syrup {grade A for light flavor, grade B for robust}
3 C [310ml] confectioner Sugar

Equipment: heavy-bottomed pot, mixer, bowls, wire racks, deep frying thermometer, slotted spoon

Cream the Butter and Sugar with an electric mixer. When the mixture loses its grittiness, add the Vanilla. Stir in the Eggs one at a time.

In another large bowl, combine Flour, Cinnamon, Salt. Dump these dry ingredients into the creamed butter/sugar/egg mixture. Add in the Buttermilk, a little at a time, mixing until the dough begins to get tacky. Cover with kitchen towel and let rest 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, the frosting: cream Butter and Maple Syrup together in medium bowl with mixer. Gradually add in Confectioners' Sugar, mixing after each addition to thoroughly incorporate. After the last addition of sugar, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again briefly. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator 30 minutes to thicken.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Using pastry cutter or a wide-mouth glass, cut the dough into circles, then incorporate the scraps after the first round.

Pour the oil into a cast-iron Dutch oven or other deep, heavy bottomed pot until it reaches a depth of three to four inches. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to 360 F. Fry the doughnuts and holes until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on wire racks. Let cool, use spatula to spread frosting over donuts. Makes about 24 donuts.

-- Donuts: An American Passion, John T. Edge