Cider and Doughnuts

Fall in the midwest brings loads of apples. Hundreds of varieties, from Granny Smith to Red Delicious, stream from the orchards to groceries and farmers markets. With the excess of doughnuts comes plenty of golden apple cider which pairs beautifully with freshly fried doughnuts.

Here’s a dessert based on the flavors of dougnuts, apples, and caramel. Two miniature, still-warm doughnuts, one coated in cinnamon sugar and one in powdered apples, are accompanied by candied Golden Delicious apple spheres and a rich caramel ice cream sprinkled with black Hawaiian sea salt. The candied apples require some well-rewarded labor: The sweet, spiced poaching liquid fully penetrates the apples that, although fully cooked, are crisp, crunchy, and reminiscent of hard cider. Caramel ice cream creates a classic flavor combination with the apples and a nice contrast to the still-hot doughnuts. Here’s the recipe:

Poached apple spheres:

• 12 Golden Delicious Apples
• Clear Poaching Liquid:
  • 300 g dry white wine
  • 300 g water
  • 300 g sugar
  • 5 g salt
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 3 slices ginger root
  • 3 black peppercorns
• Red Poaching Liquid:
  • 300 g dry white wine
  • 300 g water
  • 300 g sugar
  • 5 g salt
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 3 slices ginger root
  • 3 black peppercorns
  • 1 medium red beet, peeled and diced

Begin by making the two poaching liquids. Combine the wine, water, and sugar in a medium sauce pan and heat on low. When the sugar is completely dissolved add the spices. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. For the white poaching liquid, steep with the spices for 30 minutes, then drain and cool. For the red poaching liquid, pour the hot poaching liquid over diced beet and steep for 30 minutes, then strain and cool. The beet will add plenty of color to, without heavily flavoring, the poaching liquid.

Carefully peel the Golden Delicious apples. Using a melon baller, scoop spheres from the flesh of the apple. You should get about 10 spheres from each apple with very little waste. Either eat the scraps or use for another recipe. Place the spheres into cooled poaching liquids as you scoop them to prevent oxidation.

Place apple spheres and poaching liquid into a vacuum bag (if you do not have a vacuum bag, use a zip-top bag). Expel the air and seal. Poach at 165%deg; F for 3 hours. Place the bags of apples and poaching liquid into an ice bath to stop any cooking. Chill thoroughly.

Caramel-Vanilla Ice Cream:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 210 g sugar
• 55 g water
• 570 g half and half
• 6 large egg yolks (120 g)
• 2 g salt

Split and scrape the seeds from vanilla bean into a large sauce pan. Add sugar and water. Heat on medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Heat, unstirred, until sugar becomes a deep caramel color. Add half and half all at once. The mixture will bubble quite intensely but settle down as the sugar is cooled. Stir frequently until caramelized sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil. Temper the egg yolks by adding a few ounces of the half and half mixture to the eggs while whisking. Add the egg mixture back into the remaining half and half. Add salt and stir constantly over low heat with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain into a clean container and chill thoroughly in an ice bath or in the refrigerator.

Once chilled, freeze in a counter-top ice cream freezer for 20 minutes. Transfer the ice cream to a pre-frozen container and press a layer of plastic wrap directly on top of the ice cream to prevent oxidation.

Doughnuts:

• 300 g whole milk
• 50 g apple cider
• 70 g shortening
• 14 g (1/2 oz.) instant yeast
• 80 g warm water
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 55 g sugar
• 5 g salt
• 700 g all purpose flour, in two 350 g batches
• 1/2 gallon vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tb. cinnamon
• 2 oz. freeze dried apples

Heat the milk and apple cider in a small saucepan until hot enough to melt shortening. Remove from heat and add shortening. Stir to melt completely. Activate yeast in warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add to the bowl of a stand mixer with eggs, sugar, salt, and milk-shortening mixture. Add 350 g flour and mix with a paddle attachment until very smooth. Add second installment of flour and mix until slightly incorporated. Switch to a dough hook and knead on medium speed for about 10 minutes, or until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be slightly tacky. Scrape dough into a greased bowl and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

After one hour, gently turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and fold the dough over itself twice. Roll to 1/8′’ thick and cut doughnut shapes with a doughnut cutter or two round cutters. Place the cut doughnuts onto a sheet pan lined with a silpat. Allow the doughnuts to proof for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a pot of oil to 365° F. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Grind freeze dried apples in a spice grinder and pour powder onto a small plate.

After 30 minutes of proofing, carefully place 3-4 doughnuts at a time into the hot oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Flip the doughnut and cook for one more minute. Drain doughnuts on paper towels and quickly dredge in cinnamon sugar or dip one side into powdered freeze-dried apples to simulate a powdered sugar doughnut.

To Assemble and Serve:

• Black Hawaiian lava salt, as needed
• Caramel ice cream
• Apple doughnuts
• Candied apple spheres

Remove candied apple spheres and allow to drain on a paper towel. Place 4 apple spheres, 2 of each color, on a plate along with two doughnuts. Place a scoop or quenelle of ice cream on the plate and top with a sprinkling of lava salt.

Photos by Justin Kern.

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