Homemade plum doughnuts rolled in crispy poppy seed sugar
As soon as the temperatures drop and fresh stone fruit appears in the markets, it's peak season for warming yeast pastries. These sweet plum doughnuts with poppy seed sugar combine the best of traditional pastry making, bringing a wonderful combination of soft dough and fruity filling to the plate.
- 100 ml milk
- 20 ml plum brandy 🛒
- 20 g sugar
- 20 g fresh yeast
- 250g flour plus some extra flour for dusting
- 3 egg yolks (size M)
- 30 g soft butter
- 1 pinch of salt
- 50 g ground hazelnuts
- 50g poppy seed filling 🛒
- 150 g sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 Organic Orange
- 200 g plum jam
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 pinch of cinnamon
- 1 liter of oil (for example, sunflower oil)
- Gently warm the milk together with the plum brandy. Do not let the liquid boil. Dissolve 20 g of sugar and the yeast in it.
- Place the yeast milk, flour, egg yolks, softened butter, and salt in a bowl. Knead everything with the dough hooks of a hand mixer until you have a smooth, supple dough.
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until it has noticeably increased in size.
- Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a tall pot to 170 °C. Check the temperature with a kitchen thermometer.
- Briefly knead the risen dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out to a thickness of about 5 mm.
- Cut out 13 circles with a diameter of 6 cm. Knead the leftover dough together again, roll it out again and cut out 5 more circles.
- Place the dough circles on a lightly floured board or baking paper. Cover them and let them rest for another 15 to 20 minutes.
- Toast the ground hazelnuts and poppy seed filling in a pan without oil over medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent the mixture from burning.
- Place the roasted mixture in a bowl and let it cool briefly. Then mix it with 150g of sugar.
- Halve the vanilla pod lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife.
- Wash the orange thoroughly with hot water and dry it. Finely grate some of the zest and then squeeze out the juice.
- Mix the plum jam with the vanilla seeds, orange zest, 1 to 2 tablespoons of orange juice, maple syrup and cinnamon.
- Fill the plum mixture into a piping bag fitted with a doughnut nozzle.
- Carefully slide the dough circles into the hot oil in small portions. Fry them covered for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Carefully turn the doughnuts over. Fry them uncovered for another 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown. Turn them over briefly one last time.
- Lift the doughnuts out of the oil with a slotted spoon. Let them drain briefly and then roll them completely in the poppy seed, hazelnut, and sugar mixture.
- Place the doughnuts on a wire rack and let them cool slightly.
- Insert the doughnut nozzle firmly into each doughnut from the side or top. Inject some plum filling.
- Arrange the plum doughnuts with poppy seed sugar on a platter and serve them fresh.
Recipe for plum doughnuts with poppy seed sugar
A light and airy result depends entirely on the quality of the yeast dough. Allow yourself plenty of time for preparation and work with room-temperature ingredients. Dissolving the yeast in lukewarm milk activates it gently. Excessive heat would destroy the yeast cultures. Knead the dough thoroughly until it is smooth and elastic and almost pulls away from the sides of the bowl on its own. After that, the dough needs one thing above all: rest. In a warm, draft-free place, it can easily double in volume.
Deep-frying in hot oil requires a little attention. The correct oil temperature is crucial for perfect plum and poppy seed doughnuts. Around 170 degrees Celsius is ideal. If the oil is too cold, the dough will soak up the oil like a sponge and become heavy. If it's too hot, the surface will burn while the center remains raw and doughy. Only add a few dough balls to the pot at a time. This prevents the oil temperature from dropping suddenly.
After frying, lift the golden-brown pastries out of the pot with a slotted spoon and let them drain briefly on some kitchen paper. Then, immediately roll the balls in the prepared poppy seed and nut mixture. While the surface is still warm and slightly moist, the sugar will adhere perfectly, forming an even and crispy crust. For the filling, it's best to use a piping bag with a long, narrow nozzle. This allows you to pipe the plum jam neatly and directly into the center.
These plum fritters with poppy seeds taste best when they're freshly baked and still slightly warm. The combination of the soft, steaming center and the crispy exterior is especially delicious then. A large cup of freshly brewed coffee or a strong black tea goes perfectly with them. If you're making these sweet treats for an autumn buffet or a cozy afternoon, you can easily keep them for a few hours.
If you have more plums in your supply, try preparing Danube wave cake with plums, plum French toast, and plum quark casserole with them.
