In the first episode of The Transplant Kitchen, Alannah and Omid explain how the humble doughnut led them to become Emperor Norton – purveyor of American-inspired food to Parisian cafés and bars. They'll give a little background on doughnuts, explain why cake doughnuts are so awesome in particular, and share their very own recipe for you to make when that midnight craving strikes. Or whenever. Warning: There may be some nerdy scientific content in this episode.
Recipe
Cake doughnuts
(makes 1 dozen)
3 1/2 cups / 420g all-purpose flour (US) / farine T65 (France)
1 tablespoon / 12g baking powder
1/2 teaspoon /3g baking soda
1 teaspoon / 8g salt
1 cup (200g) sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1/3 cup (US) / 64g (France) butter*, melted then cooled briefly
1 cup sour cream or yogurt / 240ml crème fraîche* or fromage blanc
Canola or sunflower oil (for deep-frying)
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl to blend. Beat the sugar and eggs in another, larger bowl until combined and thick. Beat in vanilla (if using). Gradually beat in butter; beat in sour cream/yogurt. Gently fold in dry ingredients. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes to an hour.
Lightly flour baking sheets to hold your uncooked doughnuts. Roll out the dough to about 1/2" or just over 1cm thick. If it's bigger than your surface, just do it in a few rounds. If you don't have a doughnut cutter (because who does??) use a medium sized round cutter (or a drinking glass dipped in flour) to cut out dough rounds. Arrange the rounds on your baking sheets until you've used up all the dough. The scraps can be gathered and re-rolled and used.
With a smaller cutter, punch out the center of each dough round to make doughnuts... and doughnut holes!
Line a couple more baking sheets with paper towel, or even better, top with a wire cooling rack. If you don't have a deep fryer (because who does??) use a deep skillet and pour the oil at least 1 1/2" / 4cm deep. Use a thermometer to bring the oil up to160ºC/325ºF and fry doughnuts for 30 seconds on one side, 1 minute on the other, and back to 30 seconds on the first, flipping with a slotted spoon (or tongs or chopsticks...). Depending on the size of your skillet or pot, you can likely do 3-4 doughnuts at a time. Do not crowd the doughnuts, and be sure to wait a couple of minutes between each batch for the oil to come back up to temperature. Allow cooked doughnuts to drain and cool over the paper towel or cooling rack. If dusting in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, do this while they are still mildly warm. If glazing, wait for the doughnuts to cool completely!
*Be sure to listen to the Transplant Kitchen podcast to understand some of the differences between French and American ingredients, as well as other details that come up while we discuss the recipe.
Find Us Online
Website: https://www.parisundergroundradio.com/thetransplantkitchen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parisundergroundradio
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parisundergroundradio/
Credits
Host: Alannah McPherson Tavallai; https://www.parisundergroundradio.com/alannahmcphersontavallai; @hannala
Host: Omid Tavallai; https://www.parisundergroundradio.com/omidtavallai; @tavallai
Nortion of Paris: @nortonofparis
Producer: Jennifer Geraghty. https://www.parisundergroundradio.com/jenniferfoxgeraghty; @jennyphoria; Website: http://jennyphoria.com
Music Credits
Theme music is “Leave” by Omid Tavallai
About Us
French cuisine is magnifique. It has a well-deserved reputation around the world. But when you're a transplant from another country living in France, sometimes you want to trade in that croissant for a cinnamon roll. Or a tartine for a taco.
Join us at The Transplant Kitchen as we share recipes, stories, and tips on how to make the capital of gastronomy feel a little more like home.
