Masala Chai-Spiced Donuts

I contribute recipes to the blog of my friends' tea company, Arbor Teas. Here are two donut recipes I adapted using their Masala Chai teas.

Chai Cider Donuts

Chai Glazed Donuts

Choose your own adventure! This post is filled with decisions... Fried or Baked? Caffeinated or Not? Doughnuts or Donuts? When the weather turns cool, I like to make donuts. At least that’s how I’ve settled on spelling it. As for fried or baked? Well, that’s a texture preference. Personally, I like the cake-like quality of a fried cider donut more so than the doughy-ness of a glazed. The caffeine question is a bit more mood related. Arbor Teas’ organic Masala Chai Black Tea has more prominent notes of spicy cardamom and a kick from black pepper, while the naturally decaffeinated Organic Masala Chai Rooibos has a flavor profile distinct with warm ginger. Indecisive? The Organic Decaf Masala Chai Black Tea is yet another option that probably doesn’t help break any ties. Here are two very different and customizable approaches to making chai-spiced donuts. Which do you prefer?

Masala Chai-Spiced Apple Cider Donuts

Makes 18 3-inch donuts
Adapted from The Apple Lover’s Cookbook by Amy Traverso

Masala chai-spiced, boiled apple cider:

1½ cups fresh apple cider
1 tablespoon organic Masala Chai Black Tea or organic Masala Chai Rooibos, loosely packed in a disposable filter and tied off with kitchen twine

To make masala chai-spiced, boiled apple cider for use in the recipe below, simmer 1½ cups apple cider with the chai tea in a small sauce pan. After 5 minutes or so remove the tea bag. Bring the cider to a strong boil and continue to cook, stirring frequently to prevent spill overs, until the liquid is syrup-like and reduced down to about ⅓ cup. This should take about 25 minutes.

Donut batter:

3½ cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for work surface
1¼ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
⅓ cup masala chai-spiced, boiled apple cider, cooled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil for frying

Masala chai-sugar for dipping:

1½ cups sugar 
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom 
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoons ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cardamom and set aside. With a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for a minute after each. Next, add the buttermilk, chai-spiced boiled cider, and vanilla and mix well. The batter may look curdled at this stage. Fold in the flour mixture until mostly incorporated. A few lumps are OK, so don’t over mix.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust with flour. Turn the dough out onto the baking sheet and gently pat flat to about ¾-inch-thickness. Dust the top of dough with additional flour, cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up a bit. Remove the dough from the freezer and use a lightly floured 3-inch donut or a cookie cutter to cut out about 18 donuts with holes. Gather any scraps and re-roll, chilling the dough again if needed to firm it up. Place cut donuts on another baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then transfer to the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up again.

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat about 3 inches of oil to 370° F degrees. Line a tray with several layers of paper towels. Slip 3 or 4 donuts at a time into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. Fry until deep golden on one side, about 1 minute, then flip and continue to fry about one minute more or until thoroughly cooked. Using a slotted serving spoon, transfer donuts to the paper-towel-lined tray. Continue frying the remaining dough (transferring to the freezer again for 10 minutes if you find it getting too soft as you work). 

For the topping, mix 1½  cups sugar with the spices. While still warm yet cool enough to handle, dip the donuts into the masala chai-sugar mixture.

Eat immediately with a mug of warm cider steeped in masala chai tea!

Masala Chai-Glazed Donuts (Baked not Fried!)

makes 10-14 donuts
Adapted from Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni

1 egg
¼ cup sugar
1 cup whole milk, heated to 115° F
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2½  to 3½ cups all purpose flour, divided, plus more for kneading
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

For the masala chai glaze:

2 teaspoons organic Masala Chai Black Tea or organic Masala Chai Rooibos
⅓ cup water
⅔ cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg and sugar on medium speed until blended, about 1 minute. Add the milk, yeast, salt and vanilla, and stir until blended. With the machine on low speed, add 2 cups of flour, about ½ cup at a time, and mix until the dough is thick and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Switch to the dough hook. With the machine on medium speed, add the butter one cube at a time, and continue to knead until no large chunks of butter are left in the bottom of the bowl, 3-5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add the additional flour until the dough gathers around the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl. It will be soft and tacky, but not overly sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Lightly butter a large mixing bowl.

Transfer the dough to the bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and roll out to ½-inch thick. With a 3-inch donut or a cookie cutter, cut out 10 to 14 donuts and holes.

Preheat the oven to 400° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the donuts at least 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot until nearly doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

Bake until the donuts are light golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, make a chai tea latte for the glaze. Steep 2 teaspoons of masala chai tea in ⅓ cup of boiling water for about 5 minutes. Heat ⅔ cup milk until steaming. Combine the hot milk with the steeped tea. Next sift one cup of powdered sugar into a separate bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the chai tea latte to the sugar and whisk until smooth. Dip the top side of each donut into the glaze and let drip on a wire rack set over a piece of parchment paper.

Best eaten when still warm and along side an extra chai tea latte!

Delicata Squash & Toasted Fennel Seed Doughnuts

I have fond childhood memories of doughnuts. Just ask me about “little girl” doughnuts and you’ll see my face light up about special, perfectly-portioned treats my dad used to bring us from a small neighborhood doughnut shop. It operated out of a trailer parked in the lot of a shopping plaza. (I suppose this was my early introduction to food carts.) The best flavors always seemed to sell-out before sunrise, and the shop never stayed open past late morning. Now that I'm older, for health-conscious reasons, I stopped eating such fried indulgences. And really, most places selling doughnuts around town just don't do justice to my flavor memory anyways.

Although lately, I've been justifying eating “junk food” if I make it myself AND if I turn it into something a little more “high-end”. About this time last year I became very interested in homemade doughnuts. I was inspired by this post from Cannelle et Vanille, and then as the doughnut trend took off, built up momentum in my doughnut-making repertoire trying several different recipes. The recipe below is adapted from Cannelle et Vanille, but it incorporates the flavors I’ve been drawn to this fall: roasted winter squash and toasted fennel seed; warm notes of caramel with cool notes of licorice. To me, that combination tastes like a decadent candy; satisfyingly sweet but not overly saccharin.

I’ve been sampling various squash from my farm share, trying earnestly to learn the differences amongst them. So far, my squash of choice is delicata. A well-ripened one will taste candied when roasted, but not cloying. A moderate-sized one (just under a pound) yields the perfect amount of puree needed to make these doughnuts. Expect about one cup of puree per pound of squash. Sure it’s an extra step of preparation to roast and puree a whole squash instead of mindlessly opening a can of solid packed pumpkin. But branch out a little in your “from scratch” abilities. Try a new flavor. Learn how to circumvent a pumpkin shortage, if the need again arises. Avoid the fallout from what BPA-lined cans might leech into your food. I'll stop. I think you get the point.

Farmer's Market photo by Sarijk.

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

Delicata Squash & Toasted Fennel Seed Doughnuts
makes about 20 doughnut rings plus 20 doughnut holes

Pre-preparation of squash puree and fennel seeds:

1 medium delicata squash (about 12 oz or 350 grams)
1 TBS fennel seeds

Preheat oven to 350° F. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Roast the halves, cut side down, in a baking dish filled with enough water to come a ½-inch up the sides of the squash. Cook until ultra tender when pierced by a fork, 25-30 minutes.

When sufficiently tender, remove squash from oven and allow to rest until cool enough to handle. Scrape the flesh away from the skin and tranfser to the food processor. Puree until extremely smooth, like baby food. Transfer to a mesh sieve set over a bowl and strain for several hours to remove excess liquid.

Meanwhile, place the fennel seeds in a dry skillet set over medium heat. Toast the seeds for about a minute or two. Tossing the seeds often. When they have turned a few shades darker and begin to smell fragrant, remove from heat and transfer to a spice/coffee grinder. Grind the toasted fennel seeds to a fine powder.

To make the doughnuts:
3 cups (375 grams) all purpose flour
scant ½ cup (55 grams) hazelnut flour
10 grams baking powder
8 grams baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1½ tsp freshly ground toasted fennel seed
⅛ tsp ground cloves
10 grams salt
½ cup (110 grams) delicata squash puree
¼ cup (60 grams) whole milk at room temperature
2 TBS (40 grams) sour cream at room temperature
scant ½ cup (100 grams) sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
4 TBS (60 grams) butter, melted

Canola oil, for frying
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
2 tsp freshly ground toasted fennel seed
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground fennel seed, cloves, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix the squash puree, milk, sour cream, sugar, eggs, and melted butter. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold until it starts to come together. Knead lightly with your hands until a cohesive mass forms.

Dust your work surface with a bit of flour and turn out the dough on to this. Dust your hands and the top of the dough mound lightly with flour. Shape and pat the dough gently down into a circle about ½-inch thick. Using a doughnut cutter or two graduated-sized, round cookie cutters, cut out the doughnuts and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment and dusted with flour.

To fry the doughnuts, fill a pan up to 2" of canola oil. Heat the oil until it reaches 375° F. Do not over-crowd the pan with doughnuts. Fry about 3 at a time (depending on the size of the pan). They will sink to the bottom but then float to the top. Turn them over and let them cook for an additional minute or so.

Drain them on paper towels and while hot, toss them in the cinnamon-fennel seed sugar.

These are best eaten the day they are made, but will last a day or more, loosely covered at room temperature.