Cheese Doughnuts by Adam Handling

Serves

12 – 30

Prep Time

12 hours

Cooking Time

60 mins

Ingredients

For the doughnuts

• 150ml whole milk
• 125g caster sugar
• 15g fresh yeast
• 500g t55 or strong flour
• 5g table salt
• 3 whole eggs
• 65g unsalted butter, melted
• Parmesan cheese, for grating
• Black Wiltshire truffle, for grating

For the cheese sauce

• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g plain flour
• 200g cheddar cheese
• 200g gruyere cheese
• 200g montgomery cheese
• 300ml whole milk
• 400ml double cream
• 1 large tbsp Dijon mustard
• Pinch of table salt

Method

To make the doughnuts

• Add a teaspoon of sugar to the milk and warm to room temperature.
• Add the yeast.
• Leave it to sit for 10 minutes in a warm environment, this will activate the yeast and the mixture will start to smell like beer.
• Add flour, salt, sugar and eggs to a mixer with a hook and form a dough.
• Slowly pour the milk and yeast mixture and mix until the dough comes off the sides of the bowl.
• Add the butter and mix until fully incorporated, yet still a sticky consistency.
• Pour the dough into a bowl, cover with a cloth and leave it to prove somewhere warm for 2 to 4 hours.
• Once proven, refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Flour your chopping board and roll the dough into a sausage shape.
• Cut the dough into even pieces and roll into 15g balls. Leave to prove for 1 hour.
• Once proven, deep fry in vegetable oil, until golden brown.
• Constantly stir the doughnuts, whilst frying, to make them puffy.
• Remove them from the fryer and leave them to rest.
• Use a knife to make a small hole in them, for filling with cheese sauce.

To make the sauce

• Cook the butter and flour together for 20 minutes on a low heat to make a roux.
• Add the cheeses and melt slowly.
• Turn the heat up, to allow all the fat to come out. The aim is to avoid any lumps.
• Add the milk and stir with a whisk. The sauce should turn from cloudy to shiny.
• Pour in the cream and cook slowly on a low heat. The sauce will look very runny.
• Add the Dijon mustard and a pinch of salt. Cool it down by pouring it in a bowl and leaving it to rest.
• Put the sauce in the fridge, then take it out when you start to roll the dough.
• This will give it enough time to reach room temperature.
• Pour it in a bag and cut off one corner.
• Squeeze the sauce into the doughnuts.

To serve

• Plate up the doughnuts, top with more of the cheese sauce.
• Finish by covering the doughnuts with grated parmesan and fresh truffle.