This is the first year I have made these ‘sufganiyot’. They were requested for dessert after the lighting of the candles. Hanukkah is my favourite celebration, with the evening ritual of light, candles and all that wonderful fried food, which I tend to avoid.
I enjoy living with a conscious choice of eating and preparing healthy, clean food, but I still enjoy some of the more indulgent foods from time to time. I appreciate food and through my lifestyle, I have gained a deeper understanding of how food affects my physical, mental, emotional health, and in turn, my meditation practice. With that in mind, I have also come to understand that anything made with heartfelt gratitude, pure and good intention, and shared with like-minded loved ones, feeds the mind, body and soul and leads us to higher consciousness. Even when there is deep-frying and powdered sugar involved!
Magic is involved when the dough hits the hot oil. It is a miracle right before your eyes – you will understand when you make these.
strawberry jam-filled doughnuts
Makes approximately 20 doughnuts
I find when deep-frying the doughnuts, it is best to deep fry in a cast-iron pot, as it keeps the oil at an even consistent temperature.
This is a good site to judge how hot the oil should be without the use of a temperature thermometer.
I aimed for a smaller doughnut but you can make them as small or as large as you wish. If wanting to make the doughnuts in stages, or to make only a few, prepare the dough, divide and refrigerate half of the dough overnight. Bring the dough to room temperature the next day, which will take about 30 minutes, and proceed with the instructions below.
for the wet ingredients
1 Tbsp chia seeds
3 Tbsp water
¾ cup nut milk (room temperature)
3 Tbsp oil coconut/olive oil
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
for the dry ingredients
250g white spelt flour
100g whole-spelt flour
50g/¼ cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp dried yeast
½ tsp fine Himalayan salt
1 bottle canola, sunflower or peanut oil for frying
for the filling
½ cup strawberry jam
powdered sugar, for sprinkling
preparation
1. In a medium bowl, combine the chia seeds, water and nut milk – stir to combine and set aside for 20 minutes. Once the chia seeds have gelled, add the oil and vanilla extract, then whisk to combine.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together the salt, flour, sugar and sprinkle over the dried yeast.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Knead, either by hand on a floured surface or with a dough hook for 7 – 10 minutes, until you have a smooth and slightly sticky dough.
4. Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl, turning several times to coat entirely with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a nice warm area in your kitchen, until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
5. Once the dough has risen, give it a quick knead and on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1-cm thickness, then using a 2-inch cookie cutter (or a glass), cut out about 20 (2-inch) circles, dipping the cutter in flour as needed to prevent sticking. Re-roll scraps until the dough is used up.
6. Line a baking tray with a clean kitchen towel and place the circles on the towel. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until puffy, 20 – 30 minutes.
7. When ready to fry, heat a few inches of oil in a large cast-iron pan until it reaches 340F/170C or a scrape of dough sizzles upon contact. You don’t want it too hot as you want to allow time for the doughnuts to cook through.
8. Fry in batches of 4 or 5 (depending on the size of your pot), turning once, until golden, for approximately 30 seconds on each side (the doughnuts will float and fry quickly and puff up). The doughnuts may flip over by themselves, but some may need help. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to paper towels to drain.
9. To fill them – When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, use a chopstick to poke a hole in the side and rotate it to create a space for the filling. With a piping bag or small zip-lock bag with the corner cut, squeeze a good helping of strawberry jam into the doughnuts and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. The doughnuts are best to serve immediately.
Happy Hanukka!
Goodness shared by Stacey
