Recipe: Fried doughnut profiteroles

For some Christmas purists, the idea of sitting down to a meat-free holiday dinner may be a scandalous idea.

But the environmental (and for some, the moral) imperative for reducing the world’s meat intake is inspiring more and more carnivores to wean themselves off red meat and adopt a plant-based lifestyle.

Thanks to the growing movement of vegan influencers and social media stars like Gaz Oakley of YouTube’s Avant-Garde Vegan channel, veganism is no longer as daunting as it once was.

In his latest cookbook Vegan Christmas, the chef from Cardiff, UK reinvents the classic choux pastry, which traditionally requires lots of eggs and cream filling, into a doughnut-profiterole mash-up made entirely of plant-based ingredients.

Doughnut profiteroles
120ml almond milk
5 tbsp vegan spread
250g plain all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
50g icing sugar
1.5L vegetable oil, for frying

Cream filling
320ml coconut cream
1 shot Baileys Almande or vegan liqueur (optional)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp icing sugar

Chocolate sauce
300ml almond milk
3 tbsp agave nectar
100g dairy-free dark chocolate, finely chopped

Sugar string
200g caster sugar

Method

1. First up, make the doughnut profiteroles. Put the milk and spread in a small saucepan over a low heat to melt and mix together.

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, then pour in the melted spread and milk, and mix with a spatula until it forms a wet dough. Lightly flour your hands and your work surface. Pick up around 2 tablespoons of dough at a time and roll it in your hands to form neat balls.

3. Line a baking tray with paper towels, and half fill a large saucepan with the vegetable oil and set over a medium heat. Test if it’s hot enough by dropping in a little piece of dough. If it bubbles and floats to the surface, the oil is ready.

4. Fry 3 to 4 balls at a time for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. You may need to flip them over halfway through cooking. When cooked, lift them out of the oil using a slotted spoon, gently shaking off excess oil. Transfer the profiteroles straight onto the lined tray and set aside to cool.

5. To make the whipped cream, put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk together until thick and creamy. Set aside until you’re ready to serve.

6. To make the chocolate sauce, pour the milk and agave nectar into a saucepan and place over a low heat to warm gradually. Meanwhile, tip the chopped chocolate into a mixing bowl. When the milk is piping hot, pour it over the chocolate and stir until smooth and all the chocolate has melted.

7. Cut the profiteroles in half lengthways. Pipe or spoon generous amounts of the cream onto the bottom halves and stick the tops back on.

8. Before serving, melt the caster sugar in a pan until golden.

9. Stack your profiteroles on a serving plate then drizzle over the chocolate sauce. Using a spoon, spin the melted sugar around the stack. Be extremely careful as the sugar will be super hot.

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