After a truly hectic month, in which I spent far too much time out of my kitchen (not to mention being slightly out of my mind), I spent most of Easter weekend pottering between stove, sink and vegetable garden. It was great.
I even managed to make a menu plan and I only made one emergency dash to the dairy (in which I bought the last bottle of cream in the eastern suburbs). I managed to use some of my recent cookbook acquisitions AND my fancy new cake tin. The cake I made in it was a disaster, but that’s another story. My hot cross buns – Dan Lepard’s spiced stout buns – turned out a little heavier than I expected too, but anecdotal evidence tells me that a lot of people struggled to make decent buns this year. Let’s blame climate change, shall we?
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| Buns, blue cheese and rose petal jelly |
Anyway, today I achieved a longheld ambition and made the Cream Doughnuts from Treats From Little & Friday. For non-New Zealanders, Little & Friday is an Auckland cafe with a cult following. The cafe’s owner/founder Kim Evans published a gorgeous book of some of her best recipes last year and I’ve been dying to make the famous doughnuts ever since. I won’t reproduce the recipe here, but essentially you make brioche dough (about 900g flour, 3 eggs, 140g butter, milk, yeast, sugar, salt etc), which is then deep-fried (!) and filled with jam and creme diplomat (a half-half mixture of creme patissiere and whipped cream) until they are at near-bursting point. Then you roll them in icing sugar and eat them, until you are near bursting point (and covered with icing sugar).
They are seriously, seriously good. I took a basket of them to an annual Easter bun-fest/chocolate frenzy at a friend’s place and while the kids ran amok hunting Easter eggs, the adults just ate doughnuts and reclined with beatific expressions. I can’t wait to make them again. But perhaps I’ll sign up for the Wellington half-marathon first…
What did you make this Easter? Have you made the L&F doughnuts before?
Aah Lucy I can relate. From the hectic March, to the kitchen filled Easter, to making doughnuts today! I didn't use L & F's recipe but by jeez those things are amazing. Now I know how dangerously easy deep frying is, maybe I'll try them next time. And get running while I'm at it!
How deliciously decadent!
I bought the Little and Friday book last year but to my shame have not made anything from it yet – I think I know now what my first project will be! I'm always a bit nervous about deep frying though, not because of the copious amounts of oil, more to do with the potential for burning a)myself or b)the the house down.
I was always terrified of deep frying too, but it turns out that it doesn't have to be very deep (ie, not a huge boiling vat). It does make the house smell like a fish and chip shop though!
I think the L&F book is lovely, but I wish as much attention had been paid to the text as the pictures – in my copy at least, there are various instructions missing, and another friend has said she has made a series of disasters from it. It's not a book for beginners (not that I'm suggesting you are one!) x
Oh, I've been craving those all weekend. Even tried the Newmarket shop Easter Monday but damn it was closed! Probably a good thing but these really are the haute couture of doughnuts, are they not?
fantastic post. it's very interesting.
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