(Better Than) Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

The title says it all.

They taste just as fabulous as they look – just look at that perfect glaze!!

The fantastic recipe was created by the baking goddess herself, Sally McKenney! I've used a few of Sally's recipes in the past, and this is definitely my favourite one.

The best part about this recipe is that you can use the basic doughnut recipe as a base. Let your imagination run wild with the toppings and different flavours of glaze! I know for a fact my next experimentation with these doughnuts will be to make jam-filled ones... *eyes emoji*.

One of my favourite aspects of this recipe is that Sally encourages you to not waste any of the dough. The little holes that you cut out from the middle of the doughnut can also be fried and made into mini doughnut balls which you can also dip into the glaze at the end.

Bite-sized doughnut balls. Sounds like a dream come true.

Now if you want to make these doughnuts, there are a couple of things that I noticed/did that wasn't stated on the recipe.

FLOUR

The recipe says to use 490g of plain flour. I did use this amount, but when kneading the dough, I found that it was too sticky and wasn't even rolling into a ball. I had to add a good extra amount of flour to my dough (about 10g or a little more) until it became only slightly sticky and easy to roll into a ball.

PROOFING

The recipe says to proof the dough once for about 1.5 - 2 hours. I did this, however, I proofed the dough for a second time for another 1 hour. With experience from making Hot Cross Buns, a double proof leads to a fluffier and lighter interior – as you can see in the photo above! Of course, a second proofing is optional. Just a preference!

Nonetheless, this recipe made some of the most phenomenal doughnuts I've ever tasted.

Thank you Sally x

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

What's a party without chocolate dipped fruit?

You can't throw a party without chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Not only are they super simple to prep, but they take less than an hour to make and can be eaten almost instantly!! #winning.

You can also make these for an evening 'dessert' to satisfy sugar cravings. Just keep them in the fridge and help yourself to one (or 5) when you're feeling a little peckish. They should keep for around 3 days.

MELTING THE CHOCOLATE

Be sure to use the technique that I outline in the recipe. Indirect heating of chocolate always works best instead of heating chocolate up straight in a pan or in a microwave. You'll find that heating chocolate up with direct heat causes the chocolate to clump and become sticky and unpleasant. We want smoooooooth melted chocolate.

NOTE

If you're serving these at a party, the longer they stay out of the fridge the sooner the chocolate will start to melt. So be sure to serve once they're ready to eat!

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INGREDIENTS

120g milk chocolate (I use Cadbury's milk chocolate buttons)

16 fresh strawberries

METHOD

1. Prepare a tray or plate with greaseproof paper, and have it ready for your strawberries to be put onto.

2. In a medium-sized pan, pour in some water so that the pan is a little less than half-filled. Place a heat-proof bowl on top of the pan and turn the hob on low to medium heat.

3. In the heat-proof bowl, pour in your milk chocolate and wait for it to start melting. Once you see the chocolate melting, begin stirring gently with a rubber spatula or spoon.

4. Once all chocolate has melted, turn the heat off but keep the bowl on the pan.

5. Start dipping the strawberries into the chocolate, making sure they are coated in a good amount of chocolate. Place the chocolate-dipped strawberries onto the plate or tray with greaseproof paper. Repeat for the rest of the strawberries.

6. Once all strawberries have been dipped, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Crispy Fried Chicken with Chilli Maple Dip

Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.

I'd like to give my brother credit for this one. I had witnessed him making fried chicken on a couple of occasions and observed his method. After tasting the end product, I couldn't help myself but re-create it.

As I was told, the key to crispy chicken is to double-dip.

What do you mean by double-dip? Instead of dipping your chicken into egg, flour and then frying it, you dip it into the egg, the flour, back into the egg, and back into the flour... and fry. A double coat of batter will lead to crispier chicken!!

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHALLOW AND DEEP-FRYING

Another thing to note – you are going to shallow fry the chicken strips rather than deep fry.

What's the difference between shallow and deep-frying?

Shallow frying: Frying food in oil but food can still touch the bottom of the pan and isn't fully doused in oil.

Deep frying: Frying food in oil, but the food floats and the oil is deep enough to cover the food.

DON'T BURN THE STRIPS

One mistake I made was heating the frying oil to a temperature that was way too high. I ended up putting a couple of chicken strips in and the exterior burned in seconds!!

When heating the oil, make sure you heat it on medium heat. You can test out the temperature of the oil by putting a bit of batter into the oil and checking to see how quickly it turns brown. It should be a gradual change in colour, rather than instant.

Each chicken strip should take around 10 minutes to cook.

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INGREDIENTS FOR MARINADE

3 chicken breasts

1 cup full-fat milk

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

INGREDIENTS FOR COATING

3 cups self-raising flour

1 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp salt

FOR SAUCE (optional)

2-3 tbsp maple syrup

Chilli flakes (as many as you can handle)

METHOD

1. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade.

2. Cut the chicken into strips and place into the bowl of marinade. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate. Let the chicken sit in the marinade for at least an hour.

3. In another large bowl, mix together the ingredients for the coating. Put aside.

4. When you're ready to cook your chicken, heat up the oil on medium heat in a large pot – not too much oil as you're going to shallow fry rather than deep fry.

5. Take the chicken from the marinade and dip into the coating mix. Dip it back into the marinade and then into the coating again. Fry and repeat for the rest of the chicken. It takes about 10 minutes for the chicken to cook through. Be sure to flip the chicken strips over at 5 minutes.

6. Let the chicken strips rest on a plate with kitchen paper so the oil can drain.

7. For the sauce, mix together the maple syrup and chilli flakes in a bowl. You can pour this over the chicken or have it as a dip on the side.

8. Feel free to enjoy with a side of chips or steamed vegetables if you prefer!