Chef Elle shares her recipe for classic doughnuts

No matter where you travel in the world, be it Israel (Sufganiyah), France (Beignet), Spain (Churro), Nigeria (Puff Puff) and even Japan (Sata Andagi), one thing’s for sure: finding sweetened fried dough is easy. Doughnuts are a classic and whether 2 or 92, you can’t take a bite and not smile.

Chef Elle loves classics of any sorts, especially food and movies. The glitz and glamour of it all is intriguing. Yet, the one night that celebrates the silver screen, she’s usually working. She has a tradition, though. She catches the end, usually the last half hour, while enjoying mini doughnuts and homemade soda.

Here are some of her recipes that feature the classic DOUGHNUT!

The Oscars®: Dessert & Cocktail by Chef Elle   

Doughnut Bites (30 pieces)

1 1/2 cups bread flour

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1 cup warm milk (105-115)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

grapeseed oil

Special Tools: stand mixer, dough hook attachment, kitchen thermometer  

Add flours, sugar, salt, and yeast to mixing bowl, and stir using a whisk or fork. Connect the dough hook. Add melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla to dry mix and knead dough on low speed. Slowly add warm milk. Once milk is added, knead dough 1 additional minute, then increase speed to medium for 4 minutes.

*At this point, dough will pull away from the bowl and should be slightly sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a draft-free area until the dough doubles in size. This could take 1 to 4 hours, depending on the temperature.

Deflate dough by gently pressing. Return dough to lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

To prepare, lightly dust pastry board with flour. Roll dough to 1/2″ thick. Using a ruler, cut dough into 1″ strips horizontally. Without moving the strips, cut into 1″ strips vertically to create squares. (see on-air demonstration). Place each square into the palm of your hand and roll into a ball. Transfer dough balls to parchment paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside 30 to 45 minutes.

Fill a medium pot with 2 inches oil and set over medium-high heat. Once oil reaches 330 degrees Fahrenheit, gently release dough balls into oil. Cook dough balls 2 to 3 minutes, and 2 minutes on the other side. Remove doughnut balls with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels or roll in ginger sugar (see easy solutions).

Easy Solutions: No grapeseed oil? Vegetable oil works just fine. Also, to make ginger sugar, add 1 cup superfine sugar and 2 teaspoons ginger powder to an airtight container. Secure the lid and shake. Once done, sprinkle over hot doughnut balls. Use leftover ginger sugar to brûlée fruit.

Director’s Cut (serves 6)

3 oz. lemon liqueur

3 oz. ginger syrup

9 oz. tequila

iceSpecial Tools: cocktail shaker, jigger  

Fill shaker with ingredients. Secure the lid and shake a few times. Pour equal parts in each glass and enjoy.

– – – Upcoming Public Event: Chef Elle will be featured at the Southern Women’s Show (Memphis) March 9-10.

Looking for even more? Visit chefellegreen.com for additional recipes and a complete list of credits.

To learn more, visit www.chefellegreen.com.