Recipe for Potato Doughnuts with a Rosewater Icing Recipe
(Adapted from the SMH "Good Living" August 2009)
For the doughnuts:
1/2 a cup of milk
2 tsp of dry yeast
500 grams of russet potatoes-peeled and cut into even chunks
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 tbsp of sugar
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest of one orange
2 litres of rice bran oil-for deep frying
For the icing:
3 tbsp of water
3 drops of rosewater
150 grams of pure icing sugar
Heat the milk in a saucepan over a low heat until warm. Add the yeast and let it sit for 15 mins.
Put the potatoes in a large pot , cover with water and allow to boil, cooking the potatoes until tender.
Drain the potatoes thoroughly and pass through a "mouli" or ricer and place in a large bowl.
Add the eggs, flour, sugar, oil, zest and juice to the potatoes and mix well to combine. Add the yeast mixture and proceed to knead well adding more flour if necessary to keep the dough from becoming too sticky.
Cover well and let the dough rise in a warm place for about one hour-it should have doubled in size.
Roll the dough out on a floured bench to approx. 2 cm thickness
Use an 8cm round cutter to cut the doughnut shapes. Cut a small hole in the centre of each doughnut using another smaller cutter, your thumb or even the back of a wooden spoon.
Place the doughnuts on a tray lined with baking paper and allow to rise for another 15 mins.
Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a large pot. Allow the temperature of the oil to get between 180-190 deg C (use a kitchen thermometer to be sure!)
Fry a few doughnuts at a time, making sure not to overcrowd the fryer and pot, for about 5 mins turning the doughnuts over halfway through.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
Make the icing by mixing the water, rosewater and icing sugar in a shallow bowl. We're looking at a slurry that is not too thick or too thin. Adjust accordingly as you mix.
Dip the doughnuts in the icing and place on a separate tray. Allow the icing to set.
Assemble your "cake" by stacking the doughnuts on top of each other following a circular motion. Place flowers in appropriate gaps and serve!
