Is it National Doughnut Day yet? It should be. Doughnuts have taken over, and with all the gourmet trends this next recipe is a yeast doughnut lover’s dream come true. This lavender infused yeasty doughnut is gorgeous–and delicious! There is an ongoing debate on cake doughnuts versus yeast doughnuts, and honestly, I am a cake doughnut lover myself, but with this recipe I think I’ve turned to the yeasty side. 😉 The light lavender flavor is such a nice change from the typical chocolate or powdered sugar glaze. Combined with the vanilla bean flavor, the floral notes are a reminder that Spring is just around the corner.

Frankly, I’m ready for Spring myself and I know I’ll be making these doughnuts quite often. This recipe takes a bit of time and patience, but trust me, it’s worth it. I will emphasize the yeasty flavor really comes through so if you are not a fan, this is not the doughnut for you. I love everything about them. I made them this Sunday for the big game (Super Bowl) and to me they were the real winners. 😀 My son just so happened to be heading out to watch the game with friends, so just as the doughnuts were coming out of the fryer we quickly glazed them (and the little doughnut holes) too. He took a batch with him and his friends absolutely loved them!

I hope you enjoy these beauties as much as I did. Yup, all gone. Time to make the next batch. Let’s eat!

Here is the recipe.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Servings: Depends on how many you can eat 😀

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of All Purpose flour
• Oil for frying (I used canola oil)
• 1 ½ cups of milk (whole or 2%)
• 2 packs of active dry yeast (4 ½ tsp)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 Tbsp of vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• ¼ cup of granulated sugar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of grated fresh nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp of honey
• ⅓ cup of water
• ⅓ cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed

Directions:

Note: It is important that you measure and have all your ingredients ready before you start in order to avoid missing any steps.

1. In a saucepan, add the milk and water over medium heat. Let it heat up until just before boiling point.
2. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the butter. Stir until melted.
3. Transfer the liquid to an electric mixing bowl and stir on low speed for a few seconds just to make sure the butter is well incorporated.
4. Add in the honey and the 2 packets of yeast and stir on medium low speed for a few seconds.
5. Now allow the yeast to sit for about 5-6 minutes. It will start to look like foam.
6. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, vanilla paste (or extract) and half the flour and mix on low speed. It will be sticky.
7. Then add the rest of the flour and mix turning to medium speed. The dough will start to come together but it will still be very sticky.
8. Switch to a hook attachment and mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes. The dough will start to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
9. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place it in another bowl large enough to let the dough rise and cover with a kitchen towel. Boy will it rise!
10. Let the dough sit for 1 hour.
11. On a floured surface, place the dough and roll it out to about a ½ inch thickness. I used a doughnut hole cutter, but a round cookie cutter and plastic bottle cap would work too.
12. Place the cut doughnuts on a baking sheet and let them sit for another 30 minutes covered.
13. After 30 minutes they are ready to fry. Heat a large pot with canola oil (vegetable oil works too).
14. Heat the oil to about 360°, but no more than that. Use a candy thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature.
15. Fry the doughnuts for 1 minute on each side. They will cook quickly so be attentive or they will brown too much. Use a round slotted spoon to take them out of the oil.
16. Place the doughnuts on paper towels to drain any excess oil.

For the glaze:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of milk
• 1 Tbsp of dried Lavender leaves, (plus more for decorating)
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
• 3 cups of powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Add the milk and lavender to a saucepan over medium heat until it starts to bubble.
2. Take the saucepan off the heat and set aside to cool.
3. Once completely cooled strain the lavender leaves through a fine mesh sieve and discard the lavender.
4. In another bowl whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and add the cooled milk a little bit at a time until a glaze forms. It should thicken up, but if it’s too thick keep adding the infused milk. If it’s too thin add a Tbsp of powdered sugar at a time until it become a smooth consistency to cover the doughnut.
5. Now they are ready to glaze.
6. Glaze each doughnut and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet and sprinkle a little extra lavender for decoration.
7. Enjoy your yeasty doughnuts!