DONUTS! DOUGHNUTS!

It took me some time to come up with a topic for today's post. I've been out hiking all day, so the cooking hasn't been very exciting. I thought about writing about hiking-food, but maybe some other time. Because really, who doesn't love donuts? OK, OK, I'm sure someone will write and tell me they don't, but come on, it's deep fried dough that is glazed with something yummy afterwords. They're lovable.

I've read about vegan donuts for sale, but let me tell you, them and me have never been at the same place at the same time. So when I one and a half year ago found a dirt cheap deep fryer, I knew I had to make my own. The deep fryer in itself is very small, perfect for one donut at the time. It's very comfortable to use a deep fryer, since it will keep track of the temperature for you. But I've made donuts in a sauce pan several times too, so don't let it bother you if you don't have one.

I found an answer at a Swedish blog called Veganmatpepp. It is not active any more, but the recipes are still there. When I went out on this quest, I had no idea there were both donuts with yeast and donuts with baking powder. Since then I have even learned that there's baked donuts, sometime there will have to be a testing of three, but not today. This recipe is the only one I've tried, so maybe there's something better out there, but it has always worked like a charm to me, so I will share it with you people.

Donuts
yields 16 donuts 

50 g fresh yeast (you can sub for dried, somehow)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup luke-warm water
4 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup melted non-dairy margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar and the water in a small bowl. Mix the rest of the sugar, soy milk, margarine and vanilla in another bowl. Add the yeast mixture to the soy milk mixture and mix. Add the flour and salt and knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. The dough might be a little bit sticky, but that's OK, just add a little bit more flour until workable. Cover and let rise for about an hour. Take the dough out of the bowl and divide into 16 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and use your thumb and forefinger to make a hole. Let it rest on a floured surface for about 15 minutes. Deep fry one at a time in veggie oil until golden, about 1 minute on each side. Let cool down a bit before dipping them in the glaze. You can also roll it into a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

Chocolate glaze

75 g non-dairy margarine
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup

Melt the margarine in a saucepan and add the other ingredients. Mix and keep warm until use.

I hope you'll like them! They have been a success each time I've made them for people, once again, who wouldn't be happy for a donut?