Every week we’ll be sharing a recipe that we’re going to be trying ourselves. This week, it’s this simple recipe for crispy, creamy homemade doughnuts using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. You don’t need the sharpest culinary skills to make these delicious sweet treats but you do need plenty of time, as they take about two-and-a-half hours to make.

Ingredients:

2 envelopes active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

1 ½ cups lukewarm milk

½ cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

⅓ cup shortening

5 cups all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil for frying

⅓ cup butter

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons hot water (or as needed)

Method:

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let stand for five minutes, or until foamy.

In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and two cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed or stir with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour half a cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about five minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it and the indention remains.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll out to 1.25cm thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioner’s sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin but not watery. Set aside.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 175°C. Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

If you try out this recipe, let us know how it turned out in the comments below.