Sugared Jam Doughnuts

Easy Recipe for Jam Doughnuts - featured image

5 from 6 votes

This recipe for jam doughnuts makes 6 large, soft, bouncy, fluffy and utterly delicious sugared doughnuts oozing with jam. Resistance is futile and licking of lips is mandatory.

Prep Time30

Cook Time10

Rising & Proving3

Total Time3 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Worldwide

Servings:

Calories: 380kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Equipment

Thermostatically controlled deep-fat fryer
Sufficient oil to deep-fry (this will vary according to your machine - please check instructions)

Ingredients

250 g Bread flour
30 g Caster sugar
30 g Butter softened
½ teaspoon Vanilla bean paste
1 Egg small, free range
120 ml Whole (full-fat) milk lukewarm
1 teaspoon Fast action dried yeast / rapid yeast/ instant yeast
⅛ teaspoon Salt

For Rolling and Filling

4 -6 tbsp Jam use more/ less depending how jammy you like them
4 tablespoon Caster sugar

Oil for Deep Frying

Sunflower oil or other flavourless oil suitable for frying

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the dough

Put the flour, sugar, yeast and salt into a large bowl
Add the butter, vanilla bean paste, lukewarm milk and the egg
Mix and then knead either by hand or in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic (around 10 minutes). The dough will start off quite loose but by the time it is fully kneaded it should be soft but not sticky. If it is too sticky during the kneading process, add a little more flour and continue to work the dough
Lightly oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough to it. Cover with a teatowel and leave somewhere warm (but not hot) to rise until doubled in size (around 2 hours when air temperatrure is 20C/ 68F)
When risen, knock back the dough and turn onto a lightly floured worktop. Divide into 6 equal portions (use scales for accuracy). Roll each piece of dough into a neat ball, then leave on the worktop, covered with the tea towel for another 45-60 minutes until doubled in size

Deep Frying

When the dough is almost risen for the second time turn on the deep fat fryer and heat sufficient oil (check your machine instructions for details on this) to 180C/ 350F
Cook the doughnuts two at a time to avoid overcrowding the pan. Simply slide each doughnut carefully into the oil to avoid splashes. Time them as they cook and let them fry undisturbed for 2 minutes, then flip them over and cook for a further 2 minutes
When the time is up they should look nicely browned. Remove using a slotted spoon, draining the oil and let cool slightly on kitchen paper
Cook the remaining doughnuts in the same way

Rolling and Filling the Doughnuts

Spread the caster sugar out over a flat bowl or plate and roll the slightly cooled doughnuts in the sugar until fully coated
Next, check the consistency of your jam. The jam needs to pass easily through the piping nozzle. If it has large chunks of fruit in it these will get stuck in the nozzle. Use a stick blender to pulse the jam until the large lumps have been broken down and a smoother consistency is achieved
Spoon the jam into a piping bag fitted with a specialist nozzle for filling doughnuts then pipe approximately ⅙ of the jam into the centre of each doughnut
Let cool slightly but consume within 12 hours to eat them at their prime

Notes

Expert Tips

Weigh the dough to ensure you get 6 equal-sized balls. This will ensure they cook evenly
It is best to cook the dough in pairs to avoid overcrowding and lowering the temperature of the oil too much
Use a timer to keep check of how long your doughnuts have been cooking for. It is very easy to misjudge without
If making 6 smaller jam doughnuts, the cooking time will be reduced slightly – aim for 2 minutes each side
Caster sugar or golden caster sugar are the best options for rolling the doughnuts in as they are soft and delicate
Ring the changes in this easy doughnut recipe by flavouring your sugar – vanilla-infused sugar is wonderful. Alternatively, mix a little cinnamon into your sugar before rolling the doughnuts
Stand the doughnuts up in a tin or flat bowl before filling with jam. It is so much easier to fill them this way as you have both hands free. If they are lying flat on a worktop, one hand will always have to hold the doughnut still
Use a specialist piping nozzle to fill the doughnuts. It will still be a messy business, but this inexpensive bit of kit will make your doughnut-making life that much easier
Use thick jam. Remember to puree any lumpy jam with a stick blender. Large pieces of fruit will clog up the piping nozzle

Storing

These doughnuts are best eaten fresh. They are delicious when still slightly warm and certainly need eating with 12 hours of being fried to ensure freshness.

Once cooked and cooled, these doughnuts can be frozen. Defrost fully at room temperature before consuming.

Freezing

If you are going to freeze them it is best to do so as soon as they are cold. Don't wait until they have already gone stale to freeze them, as they won't be any better when defrosted.

Wrap each individual doughnut tightly in clingfilm, place in a freezer bag or container and freeze. When ready to use remove all covers and let defrost at room temperature for several hours.

Nutritional Information

The values presented are calculated on the basis of 1 tablespoon of oil being absorbed by each doughnut during the cooking process. This is not an exact figure and will vary according to oil temperature and exact size of the doughnut. Please treat these figures as a guide only.

Nutrition