Twisted fluffy doughnuts, brushed with pure maple extract glaze
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What are Maple Twist Doughnuts?
The inspiration for these Maple Twist Doughnuts came from the mom-and-pop doughnut shops in California that I grew up on. The best doughnuts always came in a signature pink cardboard box, and I miss them SO much living on the east coast. The twisted maple and blueberry old fashioned doughnuts were always my favorite, and my mom would usually cut them into smaller pieces so we could all try a bite of each flavor. Honestly, a pro Mom move right there!
Want more doughnut recipes? Check out:
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts
Sufganiyot (Traditiona Jelly Doughtnuts)
How to make homemade doughnuts
Start by making a rich yeasted doughnut dough using milk, butter, and eggs in a stand mixer. Allow the dough to proof at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Then divide the dough into about 20-22 pieces. Gently stretch each piece of dough into a rope about 12-inches long. Fold the rope in half, and twist the dough around itself.
The dough is really tender, soft, and bit sticky. Don’t be intimidated by it. Make sure that your hands and the board are floured very well.
Once the twists are shaped, place each one on a small piece of parchment paper. Cutting out the parchment paper is great job for little helpers in the kitchen. Place the doughnuts on a rimmed baking sheet.
Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and let the shaped doughnuts rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes, while your oil is heating up.
ingredients
How to Fry Doughnuts
It’s not hard or complicated, I promise, but here are a few tips to get it right every time!
Heat up your deep frying oil in a large heavy bottom pot. You’ll need at least 2.5 inches of oil for a good fry. Use a heatproof candy thermometer, or this very cool laser thermometer. The frying oil should be 350 degrees F, which ideal for deep frying. The temperature of the oil is actually really important. Try to keep an eye on the the temperature of the oil, and keep it as consistent as possible while you’re frying up all of the doughnuts. If the temp drops, wait a few minutes between batches to allow the temperature to come back up again.
Next, fry the doughnuts! This should take about 2-3 minutes per side. I like to use a chopstick to flip the doughnuts halfway through. Let the fried doughnuts drain and cool on a baking rack with a sheet pan underneath. Once all of the doughnuts are fried, dip them in the vanilla glaze. I like to dip one side and let the excess glaze drip down. It’s the perfect amount for me, but let me know how you like to do it!
What’s a Cruller?
In some parts of the US, these doughnuts might be referred to as a cruller. Although similar, a cruller is a small cake made of rich, sweetened choux pastry dough twisted or curled and fried in deep fat. Our Maple Twist dough is also light and airy, but it contains slightly more flour, and we are shaping it like traditional doughnuts, not a piping bag.
shaped Maple Twist Doughnuts
Ingredients
- Unbleached all purpose flour – I love to use unbleached all purpose flour from King Arthur Baking Company here. It gives the jelly doughnuts a light, tender crumb. I would NOT substitute a whole grain flour here, as it would yield a heavier, dense doughnuts.
- Yeast – I use active dry yeast, and my favorite brand is Red Star. It always produces consistent results, and creates nice light and fluffy Maple Twists.
- Milk – I use regular cow’s whole milk, and I find that it delivers the best results. You could substitute an alternative nut milk, but the results may vary slightly.
- Eggs – Make sure your Large eggs are at room temperature. Room temperature eggs will incorporate into the batter much better. Forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge? No problem. Just fill a tall glass with hot water, and submerge the eggs in the hot water for about 3-4 minutes, and voila! Use organic free range eggs if you can. There’s a significant difference in flavor, quality, and richness. You can tell a lot by the color of the yolk. A deep orange yolk says a lot! It means that the egg is more nutrient dense, and that the chicken likely had a nutritious, varied diet.
- Butter – Go for the good stuff! You all know I love Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter because it’s made from grass fed cows, and has the absolute best flavor. European butter in general has higher fat content and much better flavor, so it’s definitely worth it.
- Sugar – I love using Domino Golden Sugar in all of my sweet bakes. It’s less processed, and works cup-for-cup like regular granulated sugar. It also lends a slight hint of molasses flavor that I find works really well here.
- Kosher Salt – I use Morton’s kosher salt here. If you’re using Diamond Crystal, add an extra 1/4 of a teaspoon.
- Pure Maple Extract – I found pure maple extract on Amazon. This brand is all natural and comes from the finest maple trees in Vermont. It contains no artificial ingredients, just really concentrated maple flavor!
How to Store
Eat your maple twist doughnuts when they’re fresh! The glaze takes about 20 minutes to set, then enjoy them right away. Of course, if you have any leftover, store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature.
Get creative with the flavors of the glaze here, the sky is literally the limit! Some other delicious options are vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, or dipping them in a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Make sure to tag me @lions.bread on Instagram and comment below if you make these Maple Twist Doughnuts. I love seeing my recipes come to life in your kitchens! To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card or on any of the photos above.
Did you make the recipe? Please rate and comment below, I’d love to know what you think 🙂
Maple Twist Doughnuts
Twisted, rich yeasted doughnuts topped with pure maple extract glaze
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- 340 g milk at room temperature dairy or nutmilk
- 12 g active dry yeast
- 1 large organic egg
- 455 g unbleached all purpose flour
- 52 g granulated sugar
- 5 g kosher salt I use Morton's
- 85 g salted butter room temperature
Maple Glaze
- 260 g powdered sugar
- 45 g milk
- 1 tablespoon pure maple extract
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
Combine the milk, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Whisk manually, and let sit for 5 minutes in order to activate the yeast.
Add the egg, and whisk in by hand. Add 400g of the flour to the bowl, along with the kosher salt. Knead on medium speed for 1 minute. Start adding the butter to the bowl, 1 tablespoon at a time. Let the butter incorporate into the dough before adding the next tablespoon. Then add the remaining 55g of flour. Knead for 5-6 minutes on medium speed. The dough should just clear the sides of the bowl but should be sticky and soft.
Remove the dough hook, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size. The rate of the rise really depends on your room temperature. A warmer kitchen (70° and up) will help the dough rise faster.
Cut about 20 rectangular pieces of parchment paper, about 3"x4". Set aside.
Generously flour your work surface. Pour the risen dough out onto your prepared surface. Divide the dough into 75g pieces, about 20 pieces. Flour hands well, and gently stretch each piece of dough into a 12-inch long rope. Fold the dough in half, and twist it around itself, pinching the two ends together at the bottom.
Place each twist on a small piece of cut parchment paper. Place the prepared twists on a baking sheet, and cover loosely with a clear kitchen towel. Let them proof for 30 minutes at room temperature while your oil is heating up.
Heat 3 inches of oil in a heavy bottomed pot to 350° F. Use a candy thermometer to get the temperature just right. Gently lower the twists into the pot to fry with the parchment paper. Allow the doughnuts to sink, and just pull the parchment paper out and discard. Fry for 2-3 minutes on the first side, then flip the doughnuts with a chopstick, and fry for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Let the maple twist doughnuts drain on a baking sheet lined with a rack.
Make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, milk, maple extract, and salt. Whisk well until you reach your desired consistency. Brush the doughnuts with the maple glaze, and let the glaze set for about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy right away!
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