Doughnut Dough:

1. The evening before you plan on frying your doughnuts, make the dough. In a small bowl, gently whisk together lukewarm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Leave undisturbed for 5–10 minutes until the mixture gets foamy.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together remaining ¼ cup (50g) sugar, flour, and salt.
3. Add foamy yeast mixture, eggs, and milk. Attach dough hook, then knead on low for 2–3 minutes. Increase speed to medium, then knead for 4–5 minutes.
4. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing buttery addition to be fully incorporated before adding the next.
   NOTE: This will take a few minutes to properly add the butter.
5. Once butter is fully incorporated, increase mixer speed to medium. Knead dough until smooth and soft, about 5 minutes.
6. Lightly grease a large bowl with neutral oil or baking spray. Form dough into a ball and place into bowl and roll around to coat all sides with oil. Cover bowl with beeswax wrap or cling film.
7. Allow dough to rest at room temperature for 20–30 minutes to jumpstart the bulk fermentation. Then place in fridge to proof overnight.

Hibiscus & Citrus Filling Base:

1. Next on today’s agenda is the filling. Place a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the water’s surface.
2. With stove temperature on medium, add citrus juices, zests, sugars, and eggs, whisking constantly.
3. Continue whisking for 8–10 minutes until mixture has thickened a little.
4. Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until fully incorporated before adding the next.
5. Continue whisking for 5–10 more minutes until filling is thickened to nappe consistency (coats the back of a spoon and leaves a defined trail when you swipe your finger through it).
6. Pour filling base into another heatproof bowl. Cover with cling film. Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to fridge to chill completely. We’ll see you back here tomorrow morning!

Forming Doughnuts:

1. Good morning, sunshine! Retrieve dough from fridge and allow to warm up at room temperature for 30–45 minutes.
2. Cut 12 4" x 4" squares of parchment paper. ^[3] Place them evenly spaced on a baking sheet.
3. Punch down your dough to release excess gas build-up, then tip out onto a very lightly floured work surface.
4. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to ½" thickness. With a 3" round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out doughnuts as close together as possible. Place each doughnut on a parchment square.
5. Gather scraps and roll them into a ball. Let rest for 10 minutes. With your rolling pin, roll until ½" thick. Using a knife, cut into 2 or 3 equally sized pieces. (These will become your oil temperature testers.) Place on remaining parchment squares.
6. Lightly cover with cling film and allow to rise in a warm, dry place until visibly puffy, 60–90 minutes.
   NOTE: Wondering if your doughnuts have proofed enough? Give one a wee poke with your finger. If indentation springs back slowly, they are ready to be fried. If the indentation springs back quickly, doughnuts need to continue proofing.

Frying & Sugaring Doughnuts:

1. While your doughnuts are proofing, prep your tools and frying station. We recommended the following:
   • Spider: for gently laying doughnuts into oil AND for retrieving fried doughnuts from oil
   • Tongs: for removing parchment squares from oil
   • Chopstick: for flipping doughnuts
   • Clip-on candy thermometer: for keeping a constant eye on general oil temperature
   • Digital food thermometer: for getting super accurate oil temperature
   • Bowl lined with paper towels: for quickly disposing of oily parchment squares
   • Paper towel-lined wire rack on top of a baking sheet: for placing doughnuts immediately after frying
   • Wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet: for placing sugared doughnuts to cool
   • We also suggest a couple stacked paper towels on the counter in front of you for placing your spider, tongs, chopstick, and digital thermometer. This will catch any oil that drips from your tools.
2. Towards the end of the second rise, pour vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Heat oil to 350°F to 365°F.
3. Pour Mr. Gigglepants sugar into a medium bowl.
4. Once the doughnuts have risen and your oil is the correct temperature, it’s fryin’ time! You’re going to start by frying your scrap blobs to test the oil temp and to get into the swing of things.
5. Gently place a scrap blob and its parchment into spider, then carefully lower into oil. Depending on the size of your Dutch oven, you could add 1 or 2 more blobs.
   IMPORTANT NOTE: Throughout this entire process, you need to keep an eye on the oil’s temperature, as it will constantly change. It will lower when you add doughnuts. It will rise when the oil is empty. Continually check the temperature and adjust your dial as necessary to keep the temp between 350°F and 365°F.
6. Using tongs, carefully pull out the parchment squares one at a time. Give ‘em a wee shake over the oil, then place in your prepared disposal vessel.
7. Fry blobs for 2–3 minutes until golden on the bottom. Using a chopstick, gently flip dough blobs over and fry other side until also golden, 2–3 minutes.
8. Using the spider, scoop out one dough blob. Give it a wee shake to drip off excess oil, then gently transfer to paper towel-lined wire rack. Repeat with other dough blobs.
9. Once dough blobs are cool enough to handle, toss in sugar coating. Roll ‘em around in the sugar, dump sugar on top of ‘em, whatever you need to do to make ‘em nice and sugar-coated. Transfer sugared dough blobs to wire rack over rimmed baking sheet to cool completely.
10. Before you start frying the real doughnuts, analyze your tester blobs. Are they a nice golden brown? Are they too dark? Too light? Consider all this when determining how long to fry your doughnuts.
11. Check your oil temperature and make adjustments as necessary.
12. Gently place a doughnut and its parchment into spider, then carefully lower into oil. Depending on the size of your Dutch oven, you could add 1 or 2 more doughnuts.
    NOTE: Remember that the spider is metal and will get hot as it’s repeatedly dipped in the oil! Take care when gently laying doughnuts into the spider and please don’t burn your fingers.
13. Using tongs, carefully pull out the parchment squares one at a time. Give ‘em a wee shake over the oil, then place in your prepared disposal vessel.
14. Fry doughnuts for 2–3 minutes until golden on the bottom. Using a chopstick, gently flip doughnuts over and fry other side until also golden, 2–3 minutes.
    NOTE: Notice the pale line around the doughnut’s equator? Totally normal and expected!
15. Using the spider, scoop out one doughnut. Give it a wee shake to drip out excess oil, then gently transfer to paper towel-lined wire rack. Repeat with other doughnuts.
16. Once doughnuts are cool enough to handle, toss in sugar coating. Roll ‘em around in the sugar, dump sugar on top of ‘em, whatever you need to do to make ‘em nice and sugar-coated. Transfer sugared doughnuts to wire rack over rimmed baking sheet to cool completely.
    NOTE: Since it’s best to sugar doughnuts soon after they’re fried, we like to coat slightly cooled doughnuts while the next batch is frying. This also keeps the entire process moving along nicely.
17. Check your oil temperature and make adjustments as necessary. Then repeat steps to fry and coat remaining doughnuts in sugar.
18. Allow all doughnuts to cool to room temperature.

Filling (and Eating!) Doughnuts:

1. While doughnuts are cooling, let’s finish the hibiscus & citrus filling. Place metal mixing bowl and whisk attachment in freezer for at least 15 minutes.
2. Retrieve hibiscus & citrus filling base from fridge and stir a wee bit to loosen up, if necessary.
3. In the chilly bowl of a stand mixer fitted with cold whisk attachment, whip heavy cream, sour cream, and salt until stiff peaks form.
4. Add one third of hibiscus & citrus filling base to whipped cream. Carefully fold in until it’s streaky. Add another third; carefully fold until streaky. Add final third, and carefully fold into cream until fully combined and homogeneous in colour.
5. Cover filling and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
6. When you’re ready to chow down on some (completely cooled) doughnuts, poke a small hole into the side of each doughnut with a chopstick, widening with your pinky a tiny bit.
7. Fit a piping bag with a Bismark tip (such as an Ateco 229 tip ^[4]). Transfer filling to piping bag.
8. Poke the Bismark tip into the premade hole and pipe in the filling until doughnut feels heavy. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.
9. If desired, pipe a small plop of filling over the hole and top with a piece of candied citrus.
10. Doughnuts are the tastiest and fluffiest when eaten on the day that they’re made, so enjoy immediately!