Although I don’t have a big sweet tooth, the sight of warm glazed donuts with a layer of chocolate on top is quite irresistible. Last year, when most of us were stuck at home due to the pandemic, there were some who had donned their chef hats. One of them was my old friend from college. We hadn’t spoken to each other in years but the pandemic brought us closer in unexpected ways. Since she was there on my social media, I used to get updated about her life time and again. During the time of being at home, she started posting a lot of food pictures and that’s what caught my attention.
Amazed to come across this hidden talent of hers, I reconnected with her on Instagram. We would talk for hours about how things have changed in the past few months and she would share her food experiments with me every now and then. Same time, last year, she was making cakes, breads, samosas, puddings and then came donuts. Dipped generously in chocolate, the soft and fluffy round-shaped sweetmeats looked just perfect. The fact that she had mastered the shape in just one attempt was quite commendable. However, she expressed that they didn’t taste so well.
Did you know donuts can be baked and fried? Well, yes and it isn’t a donut walk (cakewalk). You need to learn certain tricks and hacks to cook them to perfection. If you’ve been fussing over under-fried or over-baked donuts, fret not. Try these easy tips and tricks to solve your problem.
For Frying-
1. Large pots Work Well
A large pot or skillet ensures that there is less splattering of oil.
2. The Oil Is The Master
Regarding the oil, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. Use a neutral-flavoured oil. Avoid others because then their flavour would dominate the donut. Measure the oil temperature by testing it with a small donut as a sample. If it turns out greasy, it means the oil is not hot enough yet. Also, don’t overfill the pot with oil because that will lead to splattering.
3. Don’t Rush Fry
Nothing goes right when you do things in a hurry. To have nice, fried donuts, you need a good amount of patience too. Fry only a few of the donuts at once and don’t overfill the pot.
For Baking-
1. Mix But Don’t Over Mix
Now, when your batter for cake for muffins is being made, you mix it to create bubbles and not gluten so beware of that and don’t over mix otherwise you’ll get chewy donuts.
2. Activate The Agents
Since yeast is not used in donuts, it is important to use fresh and active agents for leavening the batter.
3. Don’t Be Greedy
You may want a bigger and bigger donuts but overfilling the batter might ruin the whole shape. So do not do that.
