Chef Mykhailo Chekan’s recipe for sweet, soft and fluffy treats
Among the list of simple joys in life is a fresh-baked pastry, and chef Mykhailo of Nuri has shared his recipe he uses to impress guests (and crew) with colorful looks, plus tasty toppings and glazes. Some guest favorites have been: caramel drizzle, Maldon salt sprinkle and crushed roasted peanuts; chocolate glaze topped with chocolate sprinkles; and torched meringue and marshmallows.
Ingredients
Yeast mixture:
- 250ml whole milk (warmed to max 40°C)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4½ tsp active dry yeast
Dry ingredients:
- 540g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
- 85g melted butter (cooled slightly)
- 50g sugar
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
Instructions:
1. To activate the yeast, combine the warm milk (max 40°C), 1 tsp sugar and the yeast in a bowl. Stir gently and let it sit for about five minutes, until foamy.
2. In a large mixing bowl, prepare the dough by whisking together the flour and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, 50g sugar and eggs. Add in the activated yeast mixture and stir until well combined.
3. Pour the wet mixture into the flour. Using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, knead on medium speed for about five minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour, or until doubled in size.
5. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1.5cm (½ inch) thickness. Cut out doughnuts using a doughnut cutter or round cutters. Place each doughnut on a piece of parchment paper.
6. Cover the cut doughnuts lightly with a towel and let them rise for 30 minutes.
7. Fry the doughnut in oil at 180°C until golden or bake as desired.
With the same recipe, you can make Bavarian doughnuts. Mykhailo’s favorite is to stuff them with pistachio cream, Nutella cream or peanut butter cream — using a vanilla ganache as a base and add the flavors to it, like a few spoons of Nutella or pistachio paste. Basically, you can create lots of flavors just using one base.
Whipped vanilla ganache
- 500g whipping cream
- 150g Zephyr white chocolate
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2g 200 bloom gelatin powder and 12g water
Instructions:
In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil and infuse the cut and scraped vanilla bean. Reheat the infused cream and add the chocolate and the gelatin then mix well. Stock in the refrigerator at 4°C for 24 hours. The following day, whisk the ganache to the correct consistency.