Butterscotch & Chocolate Doughnuts

It is fair to say that the doughnut maker I received for my birthday last year has not only greatly improved my life, but undoubtedly satisfied all the sweet cravings of my friends and family. I may have only had this remarkable contraption for 10 months now but I have lost count of the hundreds of doughnuts I have churned out and the numerous flavour combinations I have created.

My own doughnut maker

Interchangeable plates -  Cake pop tray

It is unfortunate that this recipe does require such a specific piece of kit as I don't wish to alienate my readers, but if you have a few pounds to spare or need a great gift idea, I couldn't recommend this more. 

It includes three interchangeable plates for doughnuts, cake pops and cupcakes, making it a worthwhile investment for any sweet toothed 'lazy' cook.

Available now for £29.99 on Amazon.

Butterscotch & Chocolate Doughnuts

Prep Time - 10mins
Cooking Time - 15mins
Decorating Time - 30mins

Cost - £2.05
(all ingredients from Tesco)
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Makes 20-25
Calories per doughnut - 207kcal (x20) or 104kcal (x25)

Ingredients

210g Plain Flour

115g Caster Sugar

220ml Milk

2 Eggs

4 tsp Baking Powder

4 tsp Vegetable Oil

1 Pinch of Salt

1x 49g Butterscotch Flavour Delight Packet (Tesco's own 'Angel Delight')

+ Butter or oil to line

Icing

300g Milk Chocolate

200g Icing Sugar

15ml Water

+ Remaining half of the Butterscotch Flavour Delight Packet

Method

*Pre heat your doughnut maker with the doughnut plates inside by turning it on at the mains. Leave it closed while you make up the mixture*

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and combine before then adding approximately half of the Butterscotch Flavour Delight (25g) to the mix.

Now add the eggs, milk and oil to the bowl and mix thoroughly, either by hand or with a hand mixer, until you have a smooth batter.

Using a wad of kitchen roll, cover the wells of the hot plates with a nob of butter or a dribble of oil, this will stop the doughnuts sticking.

Now it's time to load up your machine with mixture! You want to use about a tablespoon of mixture in each of the seven holes of the plate, and don't worry if the mixture drips on the centre section of each mould, when you close the lid this will be forced out leaving the hole in the centre of the doughnut.

Once full, close the lid and leave for up to 5 minutes. It is at this time when it is up to you to decide how much steam/smoke pouring from the sides is still a good sign or a sign your doughnuts are about done! Once the doughnuts have risen into a distinct shape, take them out of the machine using a teaspoon and place on a cooling rack or chopping board. Repeat until you have used all of your mixture!

Leave your doughnuts to cool while you prepare the decorations.


To Decorate

Break up the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring in between until all is melted.

Using your fingers, dip each doughnut individualy into the chocolate so it that one side is coated in chocolate. Place onto a cooling rack allowing any excess chocolate to drip off as it cools. Repeat with all your doughnuts.

Make up the icing in a clean bowl using the icing sugar and a minute amount of water (approx 15ml). Once smooth, add the remaining half of the Butterscotch Flavour Delight (24g) and stir until smooth once more. It is at this stage where minimal amounts of water can be added if you feel the mix is too thick to drizzle, it is however important that it is not too thin. If you think your mix is too thin, add more icing sugar at this stage.

Once you have allowed the chocolate covered doughnuts to cool, you need to drizzle them with the icing. The easiest way to do this is to pipe it. If you do not have a piping bag with a small nozzle, put your icing into a sandwich bag and direct it all to one corner, gathering the reamaining bag either with your hands or tie off with an elastic band. Now using a pair of small scissors, chop the very tiny end off of the corner and you will now have a hole to pipe from.

Drizzle all of the doughnuts in whichever pattern you please using your icing. I chose to put stripes on mine!

Allow for the icing to harden, or dig right in, it's up to you, but it's time to enjoy your creation! (You can wash up later!)

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from cookbook included with Giles & Posner dessert maker.

Easy Sugar-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake

Prep Time - 15mins
Cooking time - 1 hour
Cost - £5.70 
(all ingredients from Tesco)
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Serves 8-10
Calories per portion - 280kcal

I was lucky enough to be invited down to The New Forest with my best friend Olivia's family for a few days this week and I made this sugar-free lemon drizzle cake as a thank you. Olivia's mum has diabetes and this cake was a great surprise for her on my arrival! Its sweetness comes from natural sweeteners xylitol and sucralose, both of which are suitable for diabetics and contain far less calories than regular cane sugar. This recipe was based on one from bbc good food and can be found at the link below, however my version is a little simpler and a little cheaper!

Notes for shopping list

- Xylitol is sold most commonly in packs of 225g and ranges from £2-£3, so I have used Sucralose to make up the other 75g required for this recipe as this is conveniently sold for approx £1 for a 75g pack.

















- Tescos conveniently sells 0% fat Greek Yoghurt in pots of exactly 200g for 50p.

- This recipe requires the zest of two lemons and then the juice of one, however I find that I never get enough juice from a lemon and its a messy job, so I was extremely lazy and bought a 'Jiff Lemon' for 50p and used the juice from there and I can then save my real lemon to add to my summer cocktails!
.

Ingredients

225g Self-raising Flour
1 Level tsp Baking Powder
155g Xylitol
75g Sucralose/Splenda
2 Lemons (zest only)
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Milk
200g Greek Yoghurt (0% fat)
125ml Sunflower Oil

For the Drizzle
Juice of 1 lemon/Half a 'Jiff Lemon' (juice)
70g Xylitol

Method

This recipe really is simple and consists of mixing the wet and dry ingredients in seperate bowls before combining them together but before you start any of that you must pre-heat your oven to 160C/Gas 4.

Line a 1.2Ltr loaf tin (22cm x 13cm width, 7cm depth) with greaseproof paper or a purpose loaf tin 'case' like I did. This cases are like huge cupcake cases that fit perfectly in the loaf tin and you can find them at any home-ware shop such as Lakeland or in larger supermarkets such as Sainsbury's.

Mix together all of your dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, xylitol/sucralose and lemon zest in a large bowl.

Then in a separate bowl mix together all of your wet ingredients; the eggs, sunflower oil, milk and yoghurt. Now combine both in one bowl, stirring thoroughly until you have a smooth batter and finally pour the mix into your lined tin.

Once the mix is in the tin, place in the centre of your pre-heated oven and leave for 45mins before checking, thus allowing the cake to rise. After 45 mins check that the top of the cake isn't becoming too dark in colour and if it is more than a golden brown, cover with foil. 

These last minutes of cooking time give you plenty of time to make your drizzle. slightly heat your lemon juice in a small pan and add the remaining 70g of xylitol until it has fully dissolved.

Continue to cook the cake for another 10-15minutes until there is a rich golden brown crust and a distinctive 'crack' down the top of the cake.

Once the cake is cooked, take it out of the oven and pour over the drizzle. I recommend you do this slowly and with a spoon so that you allow time for the liquid to absorb into the cake and not just flood over the edges of the tin.

Wait until the cake is cool before turning out, especially if you haven't used a loaf tin liner as the greaseproof paper won't come away from the cake as easily if it is still warm.

Finally, put the kettle on and enjoy this fabulously zesty and guilt-free cake with a nice big cuppa!

Adapted from BBC GoodFood