I love Fridays! (Vegan baked doughnuts)

So it's Friday afternoon!  That means I get the children all to myself all afternoon, or at least I don't have to run about with school runs etc, and we can chill out and do some interesting things together.  Or go and visit friends and eat cake!

Fancy me?

My elder daughter had a treat on the way home from school today of an iced jammy doughnut, and I arrived with the little one as she was finishing it off.  "I want one of those" announced the little one.

Yes of course she would, a big fat doughnut, oozing jam and covered in pink sticky icing - who wouldn't?  But she can't have that one!  Too much risk of it being filled with nasties that make her very unwell, such as eggs and milk!  So what to do?

Have a baking session and make our own, of course!  I haven't tried doughnuts before....Mini ones I think... Here goes...

This is what I did, but do feel free to use cows milk or your own choice of milk, and butter in place of the dairy free spread.

Ingredients

1 cup soya milk
1 tablespoon Pure Spread, 
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsps instant dried yeast
1/4 cup sugar

Filling
Strawberry jam and it HAS to be seedless!

Icing
200g icing sugar
few drops pink food colouring

Method 

1. Measure milk in an Easy Read Measuring Cup and add a tablespoon of Pure/butter using the large adjustable measuring spoon.

2. Microwave on medium for about 40 seconds or until heated through and the spread/butter has melted (do not allow to boil). Give it a stir and set it aside for a moment.

3. Using  another easy read measuring cup measure the flour into a Classic batter bowl. Stir in yeast and 1/4 cup sugar with a mix n scraper.

4. Make a well in the centre of the bowl. Add the milk mixture. Mix to form a soft dough.

5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface (I use a flexible cutting mat to help reduce mess). Knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

6. Place dough back in your lightly oiled classic batter bowl. Cover with lid. Set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

7.  Using your fist, punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth for a minute or two. Press dough out until its about 2.5cm thick. Using a round cutter, cut 30 rounds from the dough and put them onto a flat stone to bake.  We used the flower and other shapes from the creative cutter set, which are about 4cms across. I used my medium round stone and medium bar pan to put them on.

8. Cover with lightly greased clingfilm. Set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

9. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200°C(180°C fan). Cook doughnuts for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

The baked doughnuts on my very old round stone with no handles.  Can you spot the ones the children made?

10. Remove from the oven and place on a stackable cooling rack.  Once they are cool enough to handle fill a decorator bottle with jam and put on the fine plain nozzle.  Pierce each bun and squirt in some jam.  (This was hilarious as I allowed the kids to do it!  Also DO NOT use jam with bits/seeds in as it gets stuck in the top of the icing nozzle and then jam explodes all over the kitchen when you give it a big squeeze!  We're a bit sticky here now.)

11.  Make up some icing with the icing sugar, a little water and your colouring in a 500 ml prep bowl.  Dip the top of each bun in and leave to dry on the cooling rack.

All lined up and ready to eat. The divine strawberry jam, iced vegan doughnuts make their debut!

Yum yum yum!!!

Tip: If you don't have small cutters just roll small balls with your hands.
No decorator bottle?  Just cut them in half like a bun, add some jam, close and ice.

This is a recipe adapted from Taste.com.au