Simple in appearance, yet potentially rich in flavor, who doesn’t love a good-ringed donut as a sweet midday treat, or the cherry-on-top dessert to an amazing dinner?
But hold your horses there, buddy. We all love a good ring donut as much as the next guy, but we’re forgetting some of the best other types of donuts out there.
That type is the hollowed-out, jelly, or cream-filled donut. The kind that you might normally go to a dedicated dessert restaurant for, or find at an exclusive place like Krispy Kreme.
Oozing with sweet jelly filling, how could anyone refuse?!
However, many people seem put off from trying to make these for themselves. They see them as ‘too technical’ or ‘too tricky’ to make for themselves.
Well, if you try baking one of these recipes yourself, you’ll not only have an amazing donut on your hands, but you’ll also realize just how simple they can be to make for yourself!
So, if you’re looking for a jelly donut to get started with, there’s no better place than with a classic take on this age-old recipe!
As you can see, these kinds of donuts are in the hearts (and in the bellies) of a lot of people’s childhoods. So someone’s been making them for a long time!
The main trick that you’re going to need to learn with these donuts is that they need time to prove.
Most of the cooking time that you’ll see in this recipe, as well as the others we have here, is needed for allowing that yeast to rise that dough naturally.
After all, there’s no baking powder in this recipe, so it’s going to need time to become the nice and plump round shape that you might normally recognize these kinds of donuts as!
And, of course, don’t forget to heat your oil well in advance before throwing these dough balls in.
A cooking time that takes too long will just mean a hard, crusty donut that is a chore to bite into, rather than the crispy outside that gives way to fluffy or gooey inside!
As we’ve already mentioned, the real trick to these donuts isn’t just ‘how do you fill the donut’, but also getting that texture on the inside right!
There are two main tricks that you need to remember for jelly donuts that these recipes teach us: Making sure that the yeast has proven enough before throwing them in the fryer, and keeping the cooking time in the hot oil as short as possible.
Too long, and that soft inside is just going to give way to a tough, oily texture.
No one wants that, especially in a donut, so make sure that you stick to the 2 to 4 minutes that this recipe recommends!
If you’re looking for an ideal oil to use in your recipe, try frying these in canola oil. It will do the same job as classic vegetable oil, but it will keep the saturated fats in your donuts low, keeping this recipe just that little bit healthier.
Of course, it’s a jelly donut, so ‘being healthy’ might not be high on the list of priorities. But still, every little helps!
You might be surprised to learn that jelly donuts aren’t just a tasty dessert to bake, but are also a staple Hanukkah treat to make around the world too!
So, if you’re looking for the perfect treat to have at the ready next time the holiday rolls around, this next recipe will be perfect for you!
(Of course, nothing is stopping you from enjoying these treats all year round!)
Technically known as a Sufganiyah in this context, these are made in a very similar way to your classic jelly donut dessert, making them a cinch for anyone who has experience with one.
As a side note, dough for Sufganiyahs, and many other jelly donut recipes, needs to be kept at a constant temperature for it to prove.
Now, if you’re prepared to wait overnight, this can be done in even cold temperatures.
But if you’re looking to prove them in just an hour or two, placing them in a low oven temperature that was recently turned off can also do the job, without ruining the dough.
Again, one of the things that we have found with intrepid bakers, whether it’s friends or family, is that many people seem to think that making these jelly donuts is either incredibly time-consuming or very difficult, with a lot of
If you, or someone that you’re hoping to bake with, is resistant to making them because of this, this recipe will be a great showcase of showing just how easy it is.
This is a recipe that keeps things simple and doesn’t try to do anything fancy or complicated with these donuts. It’s just about making the dough, letting it prove, frying, and that’s it!
These make the perfect companion treat for an afternoon meeting. There’s something about these donuts that just goes well with a cup of tea or coffee, you know?
A lot of people might love these donuts, but very few people seem to appreciate just how old some versions of this kind of confectionary are.
Considering that the first documented case of this dessert is found in Poland, in the 16th century no less, there’s gonna be a little drift when it comes to an ‘old-fashioned’ recipe!
Fortunately, we have amazing takes on this donut as this recipe shows, that taste just like these donuts did when we were kids!
We’ve talked a lot about the whole baking process for many of these recipes in this list, but we haven’t given much time to talk about what is arguably the main draw for these delicious donuts: The fruit-filled fillings!
All that is needed is some kind of preservative that meets a certain consistency, and that’s it! This makes jelly donuts a hotbed for flavor experimentation.
Sure, raspberry and strawberry are the most popular flavor, but don’t let that stop you from trying all sorts of wild-flavored jellies, from grape to lemon, to lime, to kiwi, or watermelon!
If it can be jelly-ified, then it can go in this donut!
Okay, we know how the title looks, and that might seem like crazy talk.
Donuts? Not cooked in a fryer? The thought of it might be too much for some people!
But don’t scroll down just yet! Not only can we justify why a baked donut is such a great idea, but also one that tastes just like a classic fried donut too!
For one thing, you’ll find that baked donuts are a much healthier sweet treat when compared to their oil-filled, greasy-fried counterparts.
You can try and find as many healthier options as you’d like, but sometimes, the healthiest option is not using oil at all!
Plus, you’ll find the margin of error on these donuts way easier to keep track of. Sure, it might take a little longer, just under half an hour to bake.
But you aren’t going to ruin a batch by having them face-down in a fryer for 30 seconds too long!
Plus, with the instant yeast used, and a good coating, you can still get that thicker outside, and softer, fluffy inside that you’ve been looking for in a fried version!
As good as the jelly inside and the dough should be before these desserts, we’ve not talked much about the other detail that makes a good jelly donut: A perfect glaze!
It’s arguably the feature that makes big company recipes like Krispy Kreme so enticing.
And while we do love a good cinnamon or powdered sugar outside, sometimes you also want to perfect outside frosting or icing glaze.
Well, with this recipe, now you can do just that!
The glaze is the perfect test of your skill, as you’ll need to make it so thin that it’s hard to see from far away, but flake and crack as you bite into it.
As much as we love jelly donuts and all their flavors, the fact that they are used in a traditional dough, and by extension, are full of carbs, doesn’t make them ideal for people on diet plans, like a Keto diet.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to get around this issue, with the right recipe anyway!
The trick here is removing most of the excess sugar that you normally find in preservatives like jelly.
This recipe calls for some sugar-free alternatives, and does wonders for cutting down on processed sugars, one of the biggest things that you need to cut down on in a keto diet!
Leave a comment