Lemon Curd Stuffed Doughnuts

I've been dreaming of home made bread. Casseroles and stews cooking all day in the slow cooker, issuing a pungent, herby smell. Puddings. Risottos. Soups with hot garlic bread. All those things which feel so good on a cool Autumn or Winter night. Did I mention home made, custard filled doughnuts in that reverie? Or better yet, warm, fresh out of the oven homemade doughnuts filled with lemon curd.
Okay, I waaaay overdid it on the sugar coating part, and mine didn't come out as pretty and professional looking as Annie's from Annie's Noms from the Secret Recipe Club did. But it was fun and seriously, it was on a par with (what I imagine) dying and going straight to heaven (is like), sinking my teeth into the first hot doughnut out of the oil. I admit, there was a little trial and error involved. First of all I made a large doughnut and didn't wait long enough for it to cook through. It looked so perfectly golden so I took it out of the oil (too early) and the centre was still doughy. I figured my oil was too hot. After some trialing and lowering the oil temperature, I came up with some super yummy, cooked through doughnuts and filled the centres with lemon curd. I used my own lemon curd recipe because I knew that would make too much, and I'm such a sucker for lemon curd on croissants. Listen up! Croissant tutorial coming next week! Keep your eyes peeled!

LEMON CURD STUFFED DOUGHNUTS (adapted from Annie's Noms)

Doughnuts:

7g packet dry yeast
2 tbsp warm water
3 1/4 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 egg yolks
2 tbs caster sugar, plus extra for rolling
oil for frying

In a small glass, add the yeast and water together and combine. Sit aside for 5 minutes until it becomes foamy. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift the flour, then add the milk and butter, sugar and yeast mixture. Mix for 2 or 3 minutes until a soft dough forms and the ingredients are well incorporated. Form into a ball. Lightly flour the bowl and the top of the dough and place it back in the bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. The dough should double in size.

Meanwhile make the lemon curd. (recipe below)

Once the dough has risen, turn it onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into a 2-2 1/2 inch diameter log. Cut the dough into ten 2 inch pieces. Shape each piece into even rounds and place on a lined tray. Set aside to proof for 1/2 an hour.
Heat 2 1/2 inches of oil in a small saucepan to about 180C. (you may have to adjust the temperature over time to a lower setting depending on the thickness of your doughnuts. If they are nice and golden on the outside and still doughy inside, reduce the oil heat).
In a small bowl, place about 1/2 a cup of caster sugar. You may have to top this up over time, as the dipping of the doughnuts can cause some clumping after a while.
Set up a wire cooling rack topped with paper towel just beyond the bowl of sugar for placing the hot sugar coated doughnuts.
When the dough has proofed, it should feel slightly wobbly. Drop the first doughnut into the oil and cook at a low heat until nicely golden. Turn the doughnut and cook the other side in like manner. Each side should take from 1-2 minutes. The cooked through doughnuts should sound light and slightly hollow when tapped.
Remove the cooked doughnut from the oil with a slotted spoon and immediately roll in the sugar bowl until coated. Place on the cooling rack.
Repeat this process with the remaining uncooked doughnuts.
When cool enough to handle, take a knife and poke a hole into the side of the doughnut and twist a little to make a hole.
Fill a piping bag with the lemon curd, set with a long nozzle that will fit into the hole. Fill the doughnuts until the curd appears on the outside of the doughnut. Serve and enjoy!
Store any remaining doughnuts in an airtight container.

Best Lemon Curd:

(This recipe makes twice as much curd as is needed to fill the doughnuts. However, it is difficult to halve the recipe due to it requiring three egg yolks. But if you're like me, you'll use the rest on toast, croissants and through other desserts! YUM!)

1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup cornflour
1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice
1 1/4 cups water
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
3 egg yolks
60g butter or margarine

Combine the sugar and cornflour in a medium saucepan. Gradually add the lemon juice and water while stirring continuously until mixture is smooth. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add the lemon rind, egg yolks and butter. Continue stirring until the butter has melted and mixture is well combined. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Anything that leaves a trail of sugar has to be good!