What can be better than freshly made warm doughnuts coated in cinnamon sugar? They are a real treat but easier to make than you might think. If you had success with the sweet dough for cinnamon buns or hot cross bun you will find this easy, as the basic recipe is the same. They are just shaped and cooked differently.

When I first made these for my daughter she couldn’t believe it. Dairy free doughnuts was something she never thought she would get. The kids had been out for a walk with Dad on a cold spring afternoon and came back to these. Their favourite game is trying to eat the whole doughnut without licking their lips. I can’t do it! See if you can.

Ingredients:

1/2 Sachet Dried Yeast (1 1/2 tsp) reconstituted

8oz Plain Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1oz Caster Sugar

2 oz Dairy Free Margarine (I like to use Stork Bar)

1 Egg

Cinnamon Sugar

Deep Fat for Frying

Method:

To reconsitute the dried yeast; put it in a mixture of 4 table spoons of warmed water with 1 tsp of caster sugar. When the yeast mixture is frothy, its ready to use.

Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and rub in the margarine

Add the yeast mixture and a well beaten egg and mix together to form a dough

Knead the dough well for 5-10 mins until smooth and the gluten has started to form. You should be able to pull the dough think enough to see light through it without it breaking.

Leave to rise in a warm place for 45-60mins. It should have doubled in size and bouncy back when touched.

Turn onto a floured surface and roll out to about 1 1/2cm thick.

Cut into rings using a cutter. I used a 2 1/2 inch cutter for the outside, and a 1 inch cutter for the inside.

Prove on a warm baking tray. This is not a long prove, and should be ready in 5-10 mins.

Meanwhile make your cinnamon sugar. This is simply caster sugar and ground cinnamon. I usually put about 1 tsp cinnamon into about 2 oz sugar but make it to suit your own taste.

Heat the fat to 190 C. You can use a deep fat fryer, however, I just heated sunflower oil in a pan using a thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, the fat is at the right temperature when a cube of bread dropped into the fat rises to the surface immediately and turns golden brown in 1 minute.

Drop the doughnuts into the fat one or two at a time and cook for 2-3 mins on each side. Drain well and toss in the cinnamon sugar straight away so it sticks.

These are really at their best eaten warm, however they are fine once cooled and my kids will often take one in their lunch the following day.

I hope you enjoy making these, let me know how you get on in the comments.