A long time ago, a couple of years in fact, we made jam doughnuts, and it’s a similar recipe we’re going to try today.

In the current (fingers crossed) glorious weather, I’m put in mind of trips to the seaside where, in Whitby or Scarborough perhaps, and seemingly always under baking hot clear blue skies, we enjoyed brain-tinglingly cold ice-cream cornets, vinegary fish and chips and, on rare occasions, a lovely hot doughnut, smothered in sugar.

I remember seeing a doughnut-making machine in its full stainless steel glory for the first time as a student on Brighton pier, and watched with gleeful fascination as the raw dough rings plopped out of the extruder and into the clear, clean oil, fizzing and splashing along their path, then crawling out at the far end on a little conveyor belt before being drenched in vanilla-scented sugar and tipped into paper bags. Lots of fun.

Our little group would often meet at the pub at the end of the pier, and, having taken refreshments, a trip past the doughnut stand would usually be on the cards as we tottered back to dry land. We should have been given frequent flyer cards!

So my doughnut love affair began many years ago. And doughnuts are delightful, in all their forms, whether they’re the jam or curd-filled balls of sweet chewy dough or the ring doughnut, glazed with all manner of toppings.

In the US they have really taken the doughnut to their hearts, and their pastry stores are full of hundreds of varieties and fillings. The old trope about policemen sitting in their cruisers scoffing doughnuts and coffee really is true. I’ve seen dozens of New York coppers parked by doughnut vans enjoying a quick mid-patrol cuppa and a brace of glazed rings.

Only a few months ago, a young French patissier in New York, Dominique Ansel, perfected what he calls the ‘Cronut’, a doughnut made from croissant pastry, and his tiny bakery now sees queues of several hundred eager customers snaking up the road from 7am! I wouldn’t bother booking flight tickets just yet – the way of the world is that big business will get hold of this idea and develop it. Look for dozens of flavours of cronut in your local supermarket by Christmas.

Another type of doughnut that is enjoyed by many Americans is the cruller, which is pretty much unheard of over here. A bit baffling, especially as it’s an invention from Holland (cruller comes from the Dutch word ‘to curl’), and is popular in many European countries.

Stephen Jackson's Crullers
Stephen Jackson's Crullers

Unlike the doughnut, which is based on a yeast-enriched bread dough, the cruller is made by deep-frying choux pastry, which makes for a much crisper, lighter result. They are usually served in long twists, but can also appear as rings, when they become known, rather confusingly, as French Crullers. I’d never made these before, and the idea came to me watching an old episode of ‘Friends’, in which these pastries were mentioned.

A quick trip to Google, a leaf through a few books, and I had this week’s theme sorted. I’ve offered two different glazes, the classic patisserie icing and a rich chocolate dip, but you should try experimenting with whatever you fancy.

For the pastry:

250g butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice

480ml water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon golden unrefined caster sugar

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

300g plain flour

6 eggs

4 egg whites

For the basic glaze:

125g icing sugar2 tablespoons milk1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate glaze:

225g unsalted butter 120ml milk, warmed 2 tablespoons golden syrup 4 teaspoons vanilla extract 225g dark chocolate, chopped500g icing sugar, sifted

Extras:

Baking parchment

Sunflower oil for frying and greasing

Piping bag & nozzle

Method:

In a medium-sized heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the butter, water, salt, sugar and vanilla seeds and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.

Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the flour, beating well until smooth. Return the pan to a low heat and stir for about three minutes to cook out the raw flour flavours.

Remove the pan from the heat and tip the dough onto a tray or wide plate, and chill until cold.

When chilled thoroughly, place the dough in the bowl of a mixer. Set the mixer on a low stir setting, and add the eggs, then the egg whites, one at a time, until each is incorporated completely and a thick glossy batter is produced.

Remove the batter to a bowl and chill. Grease a large piece of baking parchment with a little oil, to keep the crullers from sticking to the paper.

Place the batter in a large pastry bag fitted with a large star nozzle (not essential, but more authentic).

Pipe the batter onto the greased paper into rings measuring about three inches in diameter, with a hole about one inch in diameter, and spacing the crullers about two inches apart.

 Pat down any errant ‘spikes’ of pastry with a wet finger.

Fill a large heavy pan with frying oil to a depth of at least three inches, and heat to a temperature of 180ºC.

While the oil is heating, cut the paper around each of the crullers into tidy squares. This will allow you to pick up each cruller individually and flip it into the oil more easily.

Very carefully, lower the crullers into the oil one at a time, removing the paper after a few seconds.

Fry them until they inflate and become a lovely golden colour (they will triple in size), flipping every 30 seconds or so.

Keep frying until evenly golden, then remove from the oil and drain on a wire rack and allow to cool a little before glazing.

To make the classic glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the vanilla, and enough milk to make a thick liquid icing. Dip one side of each cruller in the glaze, and allow it to set. To make the chocolate glaze, melt the butter, milk, syrup, and vanilla in a medium saucepan.

Remove from the heat, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Add the icing sugar, and beat until smooth. Dip one side of each cruller in the chocolate, and allow the glaze to set.