Bonfire Night Doughnut Balls

It’s Bonfire Night tomorrow!  I love November nights.  I love smelling smoke in the air, seeing the stars and hearing the sky pop.  This time of year always reminds me of going to the big Cooper’s Field display with my mum and dad and looking up at the fireworks with woolly hands over my ears – or just writing with sparklers in the back garden 🙂

I made doughnut balls for the first time a few weeks ago for my brother’s girlfriend and was surprised how easy they were to make (especially if you can cheat the dough bit by using a bread maker!).  They’re perfect for cold nights outside – and the picture above kind of makes them look like a bag of bombs ready to blow!

Doughnut Balls

Ingredients

• 75 ml of warm milk
• 2 tbsp caster sugar (plus a couple more mixed with cinnamon for coating)
• pinch of salt
• 25 g melted butter
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 sachet of instant yeast
• 150 g plain flour (plus a little extra for kneading)
• 300 ml oil for frying

1. If you’ve got a bread maker then throw all the ingredients in (flour on top, liquid on the bottom) and set to program 6 (or whatever the dough program is on your machine).  If not then you’ll have to mix the yeast with the milk and sugar and wait for it to form bubbles, then mix and knead in a bowl with the other ingredients.
2. The dough will be sticky and hard to work with – but persevere!  Turn it out onto a surface with plenty of flour and knead until it’s more manageable.  Then separate into balls!
3. Next leave these in a warm place for an hour or so – I use my airing cupboard!
4. They might come out a little flat, that’s okay – they’ll rise in the oil.  Pour the oil into a pan and heat it up (be careful!).  You’ll know it’s ready when you can drop a little bit of bread into it and it sizzles and crisps.  Turn down the heat – if it’s too hot then the balls will cook on the outside but not on the inside – and one by one drop the balls into the oil.
5. Once golden, take them out, dry the oil off with a paper towel and then roll them in  plenty of cinnamon sugar.  Yum!

Happy Bonfire Night everyone! x