Jammy Donuts

So i thought i'd try something new today, and, seeing as I have never made donuts before I thought i'd give it a try and see how it turned out! I also know that alot of the comercially bought donuts contain alot of nasties such as chemicals and refined ingredients...so a home-made alternative would be alot better for events such as picnics and kids parties!

Ingredients:

250g plain flour

1 (7g) sachet dried fast-action yeast

100g caster sugar

100ml milk

25g butter

1 medium egg

Sunflower oil

175g of your fave jam

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Equipment:

1 large saucepan

bowl

jug

clingfilm

baking sheet

pastry cutter

kitchen paper

piping bag

skewer

Step 1:

Put the flour, yeast and half the sugar in a bowl. Heat the milk and butter in a pan until just warm, then tip them into a jug and beat in the egg. Then pour the eggy mixture into the bowl and stir to make a soft dough. 

 Step 2:

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 mins. When smooth, return to the bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place (above a radiator works well) for 30 mins. 

Step 3

Pat the dough into a rough rectangle about 1cm thick and stamp out 12 rounds using a cutter (or glass if you dont have one!) Put the rounds on a baking sheet, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise again for 20mins.

 Step 4:

Fill a saucepan 1/3 full of oil and heat. Then add your donuts in batches of four and leave them there to fry until they are golder brown. Make sure you turn them over so they are evenly done.

Step 5:

Lift the donuts out of the pan onto kitchen paper to cool for 5 mins. Repeat this process with the other donuts until they have all been cooked.

    Step 6:

Fit a piping bag with a plain nozzle and fill with jam. Use a skewer to make a hole all the way through the donut and then squeeze the jam through until you see it appear at the other side.
  

 Step 7:

Mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon and tip onto a plate. Roll the donuts in the mixture until they have a sigar coating. 

 Hope you give these a go! They are impossible to resist..

<3<3<3 

    

Chocolate Fudge Squares

The weather is getting colder, and everyone is starting to wrap up and turn up the heating. Times like these call for comfort food- and what isn't more perfect than a little bite of heaven....fudge! Highly calorific, but oh sooooo heavenly!

Ingredients:

225g digestives

225g butter

 225g caster sugar

397g condensed milk tin

cooking chocolate 

Equipment:

saucepan

square tin

rolling pin

wooden spoon

freezer bag (or teatowel)

Step 1:

Weigh out 225g of butter and sugar and melt them in a pan on a medium heat. Continuously stir until it has all melted, and then add the condensed milk.

    Step 2:

Weigh out the digestive biscuits and put them in a freezer bag. Tie a knot in the bag and smash the biscuits into small crumbs.

  

Step 3:

Add the digestives to the pan and stir. When the ingredients are thoroughly mixed take the pan off the heat and pour into the tin. Use a knife to smooth over the top.

  Step 4:

Place the tin into the fridge to cool. Placing it ontop of a cooling rack or something similar will help cool down the base of the tin.

Step 5: 

Snap the chocolate into squares and place onto a plate over boiling water in a pan. Stir gently and remove from the heat once it has all melted.

Step 6:

Take the fudge out of the fridge and pour the chocolate over it. Then smooth it over with a knife. Then place it back into the fridge for about 3 hours until the chocolate has hardened. 

Step 7:

Take the fudge out of the fridge and, with a sharp knife, carefully cut even squares. You may need a fish slice to get them out as it is a little tricky!

 Enjoy! Hope you've enjoyed this post!

<3<3<3

   

Lemon Biscuit Swirls

Hello lovelies! So...this is my first post. I hope you enjoy it! 

This is my all-time favourite biscuit recipe as it is so simple to make once you've had a couple of tries but yet effective. Its also fun and bright- perfect for anyone at any occassion. They also make really cute gifts!
So...lets get to it! 

Ingredients:

75g (3oz) icing sugar

150g (5oz) softened butter

a lemon

200g(7oz) plain flour

2 tablespoons milk

food dye

Equipment:

baking bowl

additional bowl

sharp knife

cling film

cheese grater

cooling rack

rolling pin

spatula

mixing spoon

greased tray

Step 1:

Measure out 75g of icing sugar and 150g of butter and add to the bowl. Then stir it together. Cutting the butter into smaller cubes makes it easier to mix.

Step 2:

Once it has been thoroughly mixed, grate the lemon rind (on the smaller holes of the grater) and  add to the mixture.

Step 3:
After adding the lemon rind, weigh out 200g of plain flour and add that in too. Then give it another stir.

 Step 4:
Once the mixture has resembled a thick dough, add two tablespoons of milk. Then give it another stir. If (like me) you added to much milk and it is too wet, add some more flour!

Step 5:
Split the dough roughly into two and put them in seperate bowls.Then add a little food colouring to one of them...i used a little red to make a pink which worked well but you can use any colour!

 Step 6:
When you have mixed the food colouring in, wrap the two dough balls in cling film and pop them in the fridge for half an hour. Then, take out the plain dough and roll it into a rectangulair shape. 

 Step 7:
Once you have rolled the plain dough, get the coloured dough out and roll that too. Then place one on top of the other and cut them together so that they are the same shape and size. 

 Step 8:
 Once you have done this, you need to carefully roll it up from a long side. Dont worry if parts break (mine did loads!) - just push it back into place. Then wrap in cling film and put back in the fridge for 30 mins.

Step 9:
Once you've taken the roll out, chop the rough ends off. Then slice it carefully into even little circles and pop them onto a baking tray. I cut mine quite thinly, so i ended up with 30 biscuits. 

 Step 10:
Put them in the oven for about 15 mins at 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Dont put them back in if they feel too soft- the biscuits will harden when they have cooled! Place them onto a baking rack and your done!

I hope you have enjoyed this post, and maybe tempted to make your own. Have a lovely weekend!

<3<3<3