honey glazed french crullers
I’m in serious trouble – I just found out how easy it is to make French crullers. Filled with pockets of air these doughnuts are irresistibly light making it way too easy to eat the entire batch!
Making these honey glazed crullers took less than 15 minutes – how scary is that? Even worse? It doesn’t even require any unusual ingredients, just flour, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, honey & powdered sugar. Now everytime my sweet tooth kicks in I’ll have to fight the urge to whip up these addictive delights.
I found this recipe on one of my favourite food blogs, Use Real Butter. The original recipe is for beautifully piped round doughnuts but honestly, I’m way too lazy for that. Instead I opted for quick small bites that make me feel less guilty about eating half a dozen.
Good luck & don’t say I didn’t warn you.
honey glazed french crullers (adapted from Use Real Butter)
- ingredients –
for the crullers
1 cup water
6 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
oil for frying
for the glaze
1 tbsp honey
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp milk
- directions -
- pre-heat oil in fryer or a deep pot. the oil should be around 370 degrees.
- bring water, butter, sugar & salt to a boil over medium/high heat in a sauce pan. once boiling, add flour all at once stirring vigorously. keep stirring until the mixture comes together in a ball in the center & the bottom of the sauce pan is covered in a thin layer of film (the more moisture you can evaporate the lighter the doughnut)
- remove from heat and transfer mixture to mixer fitted with paddle attachment. mix on low for a minute to cool batter.
- mix on medium speed & add the eggs one at a time. wait until the previous egg has fully incorporated before adding another egg. once all the eggs have been added you should have a smooth, shiny mixture.
- drop a small amount of batter in the fryer to test temperature. if the oil makes a lot of noise you are at the right temperature. use two spoons to drop small, ping pong sized balls of batter into the oil. do not crowd the fryer or it will reduce the temperature and make your crullers greasy.
- let the crullers fry for 4 minutes before flipping with tongs. cook for another 4 minutes. once fully cooked the oil will become silent & the crullers will be very light. place on cooling rack with wax paper or cookie sheet underneath.
- while crullers are cooling make the glaze – mix milk, icing sugar & honey together. when crullers are cool dip the top in the glaze and put back on the cooling rack. once the glaze has set they’re ready to eat.
black pepper/bacon & vanilla/pear vodka infusions
In the Pacific Northwest there’s no real winter – only grey. If you’ve ever seen The Never Ending Story an Island winter could be compared to a 6 month battle against The Nothing. But don’t worry, I’m prepared – I’ve got bacon & vodka.
Making my own bacon infused vodka is possibly the best thing I’ve ever done – especially since this past weekend was my annual staff party. Needless to say my boyfriend/chef and I were more than happy to sample the smoky, spicy concoction.
I’ll admit that the previous night’s open bar may have clouded my judgement but this was the best caesar I have ever had – ever. Garnished with a stalk of celery & homemade dilly beans the only thing that could have made it better was a fresh slice of crispy bacon (which I might try in a non-life-or-death hangover situation).
Infusing vodka with different flavours is too easy – buy vodka, put things in vodka, leave on counter for about a week & strain. That’s it. If the infusion is a little greasy (say…from bacon?) just put it in the fridge before straining to help solidify the fat and use cheesecloth or a coffee filter to catch all the little bits.
I also did a batch of local pear & vanilla infused vodka that tastes great with just a splash of soda water. I’m already thinking of new things to throw in my vodka (basil, lemon, coffee) but the list is endless. What are you going to make?
making fresh ricotta
I’ve got bad news – we’ve all been duped. All my life I thought ricotta was fancy and expensive. That all changed last week when my boyfriend/chef showed me just how ridiculously easy (& cheap) it is to make fresh ricotta.
Fresh ricotta isn’t even in the same category as that stuff they sell in the grocery store. Smooth and creamy, it works with both savory & sweet recipes. From this batch of ricotta I made roasted eggplant, tomato & ricotta tarts but they vanished within hours.
My favourite way to eat ricotta is drizzled with some local honey. Luckily for us on Vancouver Island Babe’s Honey is back! After closing their doors due to legal issues, Babe’s was bought by former employees and reopened last March – and I couldn’t be happier. Aside from the range of honeys they produce they also sell soaps, lip balm & vinegars (I’m looking forward to trying their honey-balsamic soon).
Once you have fresh ricotta in your fridge you’ll be amazed at how much you can do with it. From gnocchi to cheesecakes, it’ versatility means it won’t last long. This recipe makes about 2-3 cups and will last about 4-5 days.
fresh ricotta recipe
- ingredients -
2L whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp white wine vinegar (can use any vinegar or lemon juice)
- directions -
- pour milk, cream & salt in large sauce pan & stir occasionally over medium heat to prevent burning. heat slowly until it just starts boiling – the milk with be frothy so gently push bubbles aside to check if boiling.
- once it starts boiling, immediately remove from heat and add the vinegar pouring evenly over milk. gently stir once or twice to mix in the vinegar and then leave it to let the curds develop. let stand for 5 minutes.
- line a strainer with cheese cloth or a coffee filter. carefully pour the mixture into the strainer and let it drain for about 15 minutes.
- transfer to a container and let cool. once at room temperature store covered in fridge.
