Flaky Doughnuts with Blackberry-Cream Cheese Filling and Lemon Glaze

“Flaky Doughnuts with Blackberry-Cream Cheese Filling and Lemon Glaze”

This is a guest post by Cheryl Malik over at The Laidback Vegan.

Ingredients:

Flaky Doughnuts Dough
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons softened vegan butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup alt-milk (like almond or soy; coconut might impart a “coconutty” taste here)
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1 cup vegan butter, soft enough to work with (room temperature yields the “butter” too soft here; give vegan butter from a tub a few minutes on the counter before working with it, while the sticks need about 20 minutes on the counter)
oil (for frying)

Filling
1/2 cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons blackberry jam

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
juice of 1/4 lemon
zest of 1/4 lemon

Directions:

Flaky Doughnuts Dough
1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat milk and water for a few seconds in the microwave until lukewarm. Whisk in the yeast and let stand about 5 minutes, or until the mixture begins to bubble.

2. To a stand mixer bowl add the flour, sugar, salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons softened vegan butter, and yeast mixture, and mix with paddle attachment until just combined, about 30 seconds to a minute. Scrape down sides of the bowl (if necessary) and mix again for another minute. Form a ball from the dough and place in a greased bowl. Cover with a damp, clean towel or with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. Let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour. Punch down the dough, wrap, and chill for an hour.

3. Meanwhile, place the cup of vegan butter between two pieces of wax or parchment paper. With a rolling pin, flatten and shape into an 8-by-8-inch square. If the vegan butter becomes quite soft, place in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes to make it easier to work with.

4. Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-by-12-inch square. Place the butter square on the top of the dough square so the corners of the butter square point to the sides of the dough square doughnuts. (Diagram 1)

5. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter block to meet in the center and pinch edges of dough together so the seams are sealed and the butter block is completely enclosed and sealed into the dough. (Diagram 2)

If dough is very soft and vegan butter is very mushy, place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for about 15 – 20 minutes. Roll out the dough into a 20-by-8-inch rectangle. Brush off excess flour and fold dough into thirds, like a letter. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 45 minutes, then move to the freezer for 15 minutes. Repeat the folder, chilling, and freezer process 2 more times. (Diagram 3)

6. After the dough’s final fold, chilling, and freezing, roll out onto a lightly floured surface into a 6-by-18-inch rectangle. Use a dough cutter or pizza cutter to cut the dough into three 6-by-6-inch squares and stack the squares on top of each other. If the vegan butter is feeling mushy at this point already, give it a quick freeze and come back! Roll out the stacked squares into a 6-by-8-inch rectangle. Trust me—all of this folding, rolling, stacking, chilling, rolling, stacking, folding creates those deliciously flaky layers!

7. Finally, cut 12 doughnut shapes out of the dough using doughnut ring cutters or a 3”-diameter circle mold or cookie cutter and 1”-diameter mold for the doughnut “hole”. Place on a parchment- or wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes. Transfer to the freezer and chill for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Filling
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a large pot or very large cast iron skillet, at least 2” deep, to 350ºF. Make your filling: in a blender, food processor, or by hand, mix together Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese and blackberry jam until very smooth. Place mixture in a piping bag with a long, thin tip attached, or in an injector.

Lemon Glaze
Make your glaze: with a fork, mix together all ingredients—powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Frying
Once your dough has risen and your oil is heated to 350º, begin to fry donuts, in batches. Don’t crowd! Place on a paper-towel-lined plate to cool.

Filling & Glazing
Insert long, thin piping tip or injector into the side of your doughnuts and fill a little; repeat this process three more times at regular intervals until doughnut is “filled”. Repeat with remaining doughnuts. Finally, glaze your doughnuts: either drizzle glaze with a fork over filled vegan doughnuts or dip tops-down in a bowl of glaze then let dry on a cooling rack. Devour!

Visit Cheryl at TheStylistQuo.com and TheLaidbackVegan.com.

*Note: This is NOT an official recipe from Tofutti Brands, Inc.