Chocolate Valentine’s recipe
It's Valentine's Day and what better way to treat your significant other than with special chocolate-covered doughnuts.
Sam Linsell, top South African food stylist, has created chocolate stout doughnuts with chocolate glaze.
“Upscale doughnuts have become the urban food craze at the moment, so I decided to put my own spin on the recipe using South Africa’s favourite milk stout chocolate variant,” says Sam.
“The richness of the chocolate stout works perfectly with these baked chocolate doughnuts, adding depth without overpowering them.”
Sam’s cooking notes:
• They are a delicious alternative to fried doughnuts.
• Quick and very easy to whip up – baking time is 12 minutes.
• Best eaten within a day or two.
Ingredients (doughnuts):
• Two cups flour
• Half a cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• Pinch of salt
• One teaspoon baking soda
• Three quarter cup brown sugar
• One large free-range egg, at room temperature
• One teaspoon vanilla extract
• One cup Castle Milk Stout Chocolate
• Half a cup buttermilk
• Four tablespoons (60g) softened butter
Ingredients (glaze):
• One and a half cups icing sugar (sifted if there are lumps)
• Half a cup cocoa powder
• One teaspoon vanilla extract
• Five to six tablespoons milk
• Sprinkles to decorate
Instructions (doughnuts):
• Preheat the oven to 160°C
• Using an electric mixer, combine the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and brown sugar in a bowl.
• Beat in the egg, vanilla and butter on a low speed until well combined.
• Add the beer and briefly mix until it’s incorporated. Do not overwork the batter.
• Spray a doughnut pan with cooking spray and scoop the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a wide round tip.
• Pipe this into the doughnut pan filling it about three quarters of the way up.
• Bake for around 12 minutes until firm to the touch and when a skewer is inserted it comes out clean.
• Cool in the pan slightly and then transfer to a cooling rack.
• Repeat with the second batch of batter as this recipe makes between 22 to 24 doughnuts.
Note: If you only have one pan, washing it between bakes cools it down.
Instructions (glaze):
• To make the glaze, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
• Dip the doughnuts in the glaze, scraping off any excess.
• Allow them to drip on a wire baking rack with a tray underneath to catch any excess.
• Decorate with your sprinkles right away and then allow the glaze to harden slightly.
Tip: To give the glaze a richer stout flavour, substitute one to two tablespoons of the milk for Castle Milk Stout Chocolate.
