It’s National Doughnut Week in May – all hail the nation’s favourite sweet treat and help raise vital funds for charity

National Doughnut Week is a nationwide fund-raising campaign that brings together bakeries, cafés, businesses and communities to celebrate the doughnut while raising money for charity. This year, from 16 to 24 May, the week will be supporting the Children’s Trust, the UK’s leading charity for children with brain injury. Simply pop into any one of the participating bakeries and get involved. But if you can’t wait for a bit of doughy goodness, here’s a cheeky little recipe for a simple ring donut to help scratch that itch…!

INGREDIENTS

• 200g Strong white bread flour
• 15g Caster sugar
• 7g Dried fast action yeast
• 50g Unsalted butter
• 100ml Whole milk
• 1tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 Medium free-range egg
• Pinch fine salt
• Sunflower or groundnut oil
• 50g Caster sugar mixed with a 1tsp ground cinnamon

METHOD

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the sugar, yeast and a pinch of salt, then mix thoroughly. Add the butter, milk and vanilla extract to a small pan and warm over a very gentle heat until the butter has melted and the milk is just warm, but not boiling, then stir in the beaten egg. Gradually add the warm milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to form a rough dough.

Tip out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes adding more flour as necessary or until the dough is not sticky and slightly springy to touch. Place into a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a piece of greased cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

When the dough has doubled in volume, knead lightly then divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll into balls and place on baking sheets well-spaced apart. Cover with a piece of greased cling film and leave to rise again for 45 minutes. Roll over the top of the doughnuts to make them approximately 3cm in height and then using a small, lightly oiled pastry cutter, stamp out the middle of each doughnut and set aside.

Pour the oil into a large saucepan to the depth of 10cm and heat to between 50 and 170°C (Too hot, the outside burns before the inside cooks; too cold, and the donuts become oily and dense). Carefully lower 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time on a slotted spoon and fry for 30 seconds on each side or until golden brown. Serve warm.