Not that doughnuts aren’t worth celebrating on their own right, but as it turns out, there’s a little more to this holiday than that. The first US National Doughnut Day was celebrated in 1938, by the Salvation Army, as a way to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers and to raise money to help those in dire circumstances at home during the Great Depression. According to Wikipedia (and, of course if it is on a wiki, it must be true… right, right?):

“About 250 Salvation Army volunteers went to France. Because of the difficulties of providing freshly baked goods from huts established in abandoned buildings near to the front lines, two Salvation Army volunteers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purvian) came up with the idea of providing doughnuts. These are reported to have been an “instant hit”, and “soon many soldiers were visiting Salvation Army huts”. Margaret Sheldon wrote of one busy day “Today I made 22 pies, 300 doughnuts, 700 cups of coffee.”

Well, that seems worth celebrating. How about some Fresh Cherry Cake Drop Doughnuts?

To make your own, simply follow a basic cake doughnut recipe (like the Basic Cake doughnut recipe in Doughnuts), and mix about 10 pitted and chopped fresh cherries into the dry flour mixture before adding the butter, the proceed as normal with the rest of the recipe. For the light pink glaze, I simply squeezed some juice from a handful of cherries and used it in place of the liquid in the standard glaze recipe. A teensy pinch of salt will help bring out the cherry flavor in the glaze.

]]> http://www.laraferroni.com/2011/06/03/fresh-cherry-cake-doughnuts/feed/ 22 http://www.laraferroni.com/2011/05/13/doughnut-tea-cake-with-rhubarb-orange-compote/ http://www.laraferroni.com/2011/05/13/doughnut-tea-cake-with-rhubarb-orange-compote/#comments Fri, 13 May 2011 19:00:55 +0000 L http://www.laraferroni.com/2011/05/13/doughnut-tea-cake-with-rhubarb-orange-compote/ What happens when you bake up my basic cake doughnut dough in little loaf pans? Amazingness.

What happens when you bake up my basic cake doughnut dough in little loaf pans? Amazingness.

You get the texture of a tea cake and the flavor of a doughnut. Drizzle with doughnut glaze and slather on some rhubarb orange compote. The perfect weekend treat.

Rhubarb Orange Compote

I had some oranges that needed to be used, and rhubarb coming from the garden quicker than I know what to do with it… while I hadn’t ever heard of orange and rhubarb together, it seemed like a fun idea. Wow… these are two flavors that completely belong together. If you have some rhubarb to use, I highly recommend giving this compote/jam/spread stuff a try.

Juice of 3 oranges
1 orange, with the peel still on, very thinly sliced into rounds
Zest of 1 orange
4 or 5 stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1 inch lengths
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on your sweet preferences)
A pinch of salt

Put everything in a pot. Stir, over medium heat, until everything gets nice and soft and thick. Done.

If you want to make the tea cakes, just follow the basic cake doughnut recipe, using a tiny bit more milk than normal, and bake in a small, parchment lined, loaf pan for about 30 minutes at 350F, until golden on top.

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Ever since I started telling people that I was going to write a cookbook on doughnuts, I’ve gotten questions about whether it was going to include any savory recipes. Like me, many of you out there love your doughnuts, but also tend to crave salty over sweet. I’ve been promising some savory doughnut recipes ever since, and I must say, I wish I had gotten around to it much, much sooner.

Since I basically started my whole doughnut obsession around Cinco de Mayo with margarita doughnuts, what better way to jump into savory doughnuts than this: green chile and chicken doughnuts! Oh, sure, it’s more of a New Mexican flavor combination than a true Mexican one, but then again, it seems that it is the US that has turned the 5th of May into a new reason to party. And really, can you ever go wrong with green chile?

You can do these doughnuts a couple of ways. If you want easy, just make raised doughnuts as usual (either with  one of the recipes in Doughnuts or one of the ones on the site), but use 1/2 of the sugar and twice the salt. I subbed in 25% whole wheat flour in these, and loved it. Cut them out as doughnuts (they’ll just fry easier that way!) And then, load up a couple with warmed up green chile with shredded chicken, a little diced onion, maybe some cilantro, definitely a fried egg, a sprinkle of cojita, and a good dollop of sour cream. Oh my. Breakfast fit for a Donut King.

Or, you can get fancy. And by fancy I mean stuffed. Roll out your dough a bit thinner than normal and cut out rounds (without holes), and then place a bit of the shredded chicken, green chile, cojita, onion and whatever else you like in the center. Be careful not to overfill though… you want it to be less than 2 tablespoons all in. Then, top with another round, and crimp closed (I use the same cutter, which trims off any extra and pinches the edges together well). Proof, fry and you have what I will call with no shame an Empanut. Sort of like a doughnut, sort of like an empanada, all kinds of delicious. You could, of course, then proceed as above and smother in more green chile and cojita. Or, you can simply take a bite.

Or, if you really want to get crazy… cut out a ton of holes, fry them up, and use them in place of the chips in your favorite chilaqueles recipe.

Oh savory doughnuts… what in the world took me so long!

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

I am also comforting myself with other warmth, like this little pot of baked eggs with smokey paprika. Just toast up some little squares of stale bread tossed in a little salt and olive oil until they are slightly crunchy. Then, top with an egg (or two if you like), and tiny pour of cream and a healthy dash of smoky paprika (hot or sweet, whichever you prefer), and bake at 350F until the whites are set.

Getting into the kitchen always brings me joy. It’s a celebration of life and love that I suppose is what Valentines day is supposed to be about. I don’t usually do anything to celebrate it, but my mom always did send a card. I think she would have liked this little pot of deliciousness.

The good news is that while these apples may not be the best to eat straight from the bowl, they do have their uses. One of those big bins of apples at the university market is full of apples marked “cider apples.” One of these days, I would love to get a real cider press… but in the meantime, my juicer does a fine job. Hot or cold, add in a bit of cinnamon and lemon juice (just a tiny bit), and it’s like you are drinking pie.

Or, for just about any apple this time of year (ideally one that was locally grown and stored), roasting is a great solution. Just cut a few in half, dot on some butter, sugar, a sprinkle of sea salt and a bit of your favorite spice. Maybe a squeeze of lemon juice. Then, roast at 350. Maybe, if you are inclined, drizzle on some warmed maple syrup or a dollop of whipped cream to finish.

The flesh softens and the juices caramelize, and suddenly, those storage apples seem like a pretty good idea.

What do you do with your storage apples?

This version simply cooks the rice (arborio, but any short grain will do) in some water and milk (1/2 cup rice, 1 1/2 cup water, 1 cup milk), with a pinch of salt and cinnamon until most of the liquid is gone and the rice is tender. Top with browned butter (yum!), brown sugar and some slightly caramelized (again in brown butter and a bit of sugar and salt) apple slices. My bowlful was just barely sweet, with most of the flavor coming from the browned butter and rice.

I think you could pretty easily pass this juice off as “kiwi” juice for the color if your family grimaces at the thought of spinach in their juice. I used 3 apples, 2 pears, 3 kiwi and 1 to 2 cups of spinach (including the stems). On the kiwis, I just chopped them in half and tossed them in the juicer. I was a little afraid that the skin might make the juice a bit weird, but it was fine. The mesh strainer in the juicer pretty much filters all of that out (of course, it also filters out a lot of the good fiber you get from the fruit).

Just like yesterday, these are pretty quick to come together if you do a little bit of pre-planning. Make the crepe batter the night before, and keep it chilled up until you need to use it (do give it a good stir before you start making the crepes). Pull out the cream cheese too, if you are using it, so it warms a bit and is easier to spread. Make the balsamic syrup, and set it aside. Chop the kale and the pears. Place the pears in some slightly acidic cold water (a squeeze of lemon will do) to keep them from browning. Make the crepes and set aside while you saute the kale (just a touch of oil and a very hot pan). I like to finish the kale with a squeeze of lemon juice and a little salt. To assemble, smear a small amount of cream cheese on a crepe, top with the kale and a sprinkling of pears and drizzle with the syrup.

By the way, the balsamic syrup is a great addition to all kinds of things, and it’s really easy to make. Just combine 1/2 cup balsamic with a tablespoon of sugar, and heat to your desired consistency… actually, just a tiny bit thinner than what you’d like because it will thicken a smidge as it cools. It’s also the subject of my next Still Life With remake challenge… so stay tuned!

Although it looks a bit “steppy” this would actually be an easy brunch for a group of people. The crepe batter can be made the night before (and kept covered in the refrigerator overnight… it needs at least an hour rest anyway). Chop the veggies (it helps to parboil the potato so it sautes quickly), and have them ready to go. Make the crepes while the water heats for the eggs, and set them aside. Poach the eggs and let them sit with a drizzle of olive oil in a warm spot near the stove, while the pan heats for the hash. Then quickly saute the veggies, and assemble.

Yum!

Today, I started simply. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for 50% (by weight) of the all purpose flour in my Chai cake doughnut recipe (“Doughnuts”) topped with a honey glaze. Wow. The whole wheat pastry flour adds a lovely nutty flavor, but the doughnuts are still light and fluffy with a subtle and pleasing crispness to the crust. I’m quite sure you could make the same recipe with 100% whole wheat pastry flour for even more wheaty flavor.

Next I’ll be trying whole wheat raised doughnuts, buckwheat cake doughnuts and maybe something really crazy like chocolate pumpernickel!

What is your favorite whole grain to bake with?