Donut Dough
550g Strong White Bread Flour
125g Whole Milk
7g Instant Yeast
200g Whole Eggs
12g Fine Sea Salt
125g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Small Cubes
75g Caster/Granulated Sugar
20g Powdered Milk (Full Fat)
10g Vanilla Extract
Zest 1 Lemon

Lemon Crème Pâtissière
300g Double/Heavy Cream
200g Whole Milk
1 Fresh Vanilla Pod
85g Caster sugar
100g Egg Yolks
40g Cornstarch/Cornflour
Zest of 2 Lemons

Candied Lemon Peel
Zest of 1 Unwaxed Lemon
50g Caster Sugar
50g Water

Lemon Sugar
150g Caster/Granulated Sugar
Zest 1 Lemon

Italian Meringue
110g Egg Whites
70g Water
300g Caster Sugar

3 Litres of Vegetable Oil For Frying

Stand mixer
Oil spray (optional)
Oblong cookie cutter (I used a 14.5cm x 3.5cm cutter)
Deep fat fryer
Digital thermometer
Piping bags
St Honore nozzle

Donut Dough

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the wet ingredients, followed by the dry. Attach the dough hook and mix it on a medium speed for 10 minutes, scraping down the bowl every 3-4 minutes.

2. After 10 minutes, turn the mixer off and let the dough rest for 5 minutes. This will relax the gluten and make the next part of the mixing easier!

3. Turn the mixer back on, and knead for a further 10-12 minutes. The dough should start to come away from the sides of the bowl but there will still be a few bits stuck to the side. 

4. Remove it from the mixer and lift the dough onto your work surface. Give it a quick knead and shape it into a nice tight ball. The dough should feel smooth and pass the windowpane test when you stretch a small piece of the dough.

5. Lift it into a lightly oiled bowl, then lightly spray the top of the dough with an oil spray and cover the surface directly with cling film. Cover the bowl with a sheet of cling film too and refrigerate the dough overnight (12-18 hours). This will make it much easier to work with.

6. Before you are ready to work with the dough, prep a baking tray by cutting 8 rectangles of parchment paper and lightly oiling them before placing them on the tray. This will make it easier to transfer the donuts to the fryer. 

7. The next day remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Very lightly flour your work surface and lift the dough on. Lightly flour the top of the dough and a rolling pin, and roll the dough out, the shape doesn’t matter, but you want it to be around 12-15mm thick (0.5”). Ensure there is a little flour underneath the dough once you’ve finished rolling otherwise when you go to remove the cut donuts they will stick to the table. 

8. Take the oblong cookie cutter and dip it in a bowl of flour to make sure it doesn’t stick to the dough. Press the cookie cutter into the dough to cut the shapes, and lift them onto the sheets of parchment you cut earlier.

9. Very lightly oil the top of the donuts with an oil spray, and then cover the entire tray with a sheet of cling film and allow the donuts to rise for 2-3 hours at room temperature. In warmer weather, 2 hours should be fine, but when it is colder it will be closer to 3 hours. The donuts should look puffier and will have increased in volume when they are done. 

Lemon Crème Pâtissière

1. It is best to make this ahead of rolling out your donuts so that it has enough time to chill. 

2. Add the sugar into a bowl along with the lemon zest and briefly rub them together to release some of those citrus oils.

3. Add the egg yolks and cornflour and whisk the mixture together until it is thick, then set it to one side.

4. In the meantime, scrape the beans from the fresh vanilla pod and add these into a medium saucepan along with the milk & cream.

5. Place the pan over a medium heat and stir occasionally until the mixture is steaming.

6. Once hot, slowly pour the mixture over the egg yolks, and whisk until they are combined. It is important to do this slowly to avoid scrambling the eggs.

7. Add the entire mixture back into the pan and place it on a medium heat. 

8. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Once it bubbles, cook for a further minute, then remove it from the heat and pass it through a sieve into another bowl. At this point it’s likely your mixture will have split a little, so just add a splash of water (2 tsp) and blend with a hand blender and it will pull it back together.

9. Place a sheet of cling film directly on the surface and refrigerate until ready to use (3-4 hours).

Candied Lemon Peel

1. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the lemon into strips.

2. With a sharp knife, cut the peel lengthways to create thin strips. 

3. Into a small saucepan, add the lemon strips, sugar and water. Place it over a medium low heat and gently simmer for around 10 minutes. The strips of lemon should appear slightly translucent and the liquid should thicken. 

4. Use some tongs to remove them from the pan and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and allow to dry completely. About half an hour.

Lemon Sugar

1. Add the sugar into a bowl along with the lemon zest and briefly rub them together to release some of those citrus oils.

2. Set the bowl to one side.

Frying

1. When the donuts are close to being proofed, add the oil to your deep fat fryer (or a large pan) and heat it to 170C/340F. A deep-fat fryer is ideal here as it is able to regulate the temperature at a much more consistent level vs frying in a pan.

2. When the donuts are ready, drop 1 into the oil, and slowly peel off the sheet of parchment paper.

3. Fry for 90 seconds, flip, fry for 60 seconds, flip, fry for 15 seconds, flip, fry for 15 seconds. Nb. Due to the shape of these donuts they’re likely to flip over by themselves in the oil, so I’d recommend holding them in place lightly with some tongs so you can ensure an even bake on each side. I’ve also increased the fry time just slightly from the video as I found slightly longer was better! 

4. Remove your donut and place it on a wire rack, allowing any excess oil to drip off. After a minute, and while the donuts are still warm, toss the donut in the bowl of lemon sugar then place back on your wire rack.

5. Repeat with the remaining donuts. 

Italian Meringue

1. Into a small saucepan, add the water, then pour the sugar on top. Place it over a medium heat

2. Meanwhile, add the egg whites into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk it on a medium low speed.

3. Once the water and sugar mixture has started to boil, cook it until it reaches a temperature of 118C/244F on a digital thermometer. By this point, the egg whites should be bubbly and frothy.

4. Immediately remove the sugar syrup from the heat, increase the stand mixer speed to medium high, and slowly drizzle the sugar syrup in, aiming to pour it in between the whisk and the bowl. Just make sure not to pour it on the whisk or it will splatter everywhere.

5. Continue to whisk for 6-7 minutes, or until the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff peaks form on the meringue.

6. Add the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a St. Honore nozzle.

Assembly

1. Remove your lemon crème pâtissière from the fridge and whisk it for 15-20 seconds to loosen it a little. Add it to a piping bag.

2. Take a donut and cut it lengthways down the middle. Pipe in some lemon creme patissiere until it reaches the top of the donut, then smooth it with a palette knife. Repeat with the rest of the donuts.

3. Next, take your meringue and in a zig zag motion, pipe it down the middle of your donut. Then, using a blow torch, lightly torch the top of your meringue until it’s slightly brown. Repeat with the rest of the donuts. 

4. Garnish with your candied lemon peel.

Donut Dough
550g Strong White Bread Flour
125g Whole Milk
7g Instant Dry Yeast
200g Whole Eggs
12g Fine Sea Salt
125g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Small Cubes
75g Caster/Granulated Sugar
20g Powdered Milk (Full Fat)
10g Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Glaze
500g Icing/Powdered Sugar
20g Glucose (or Golden Syrup)
80g Whole Milk
25g Water
15g Double/Heavy Cream
1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or 1 Fresh Vanilla Pods
Zest ¼ Lemon
Pinch of Fine Sea Salt

3 Litres of Vegetable Oil For Frying

Stand mixer
Oil spray (optional)
80mm cookie cutter
30mm cookie cutter
Piping bag
Deep fat fryer (optional but recommended)

Donut Dough

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the wet ingredients, followed by the dry. Attach the dough hook and mix it on a medium speed for 10 minutes, scraping down the bowl every 3-4 minutes.

2. After 10 minutes, turn the mixer off and let the dough rest for 5 minutes. This will relax the gluten and make the next part of the mixing easier!

3. Turn the mixer back on, and knead for a further 10-12 minutes. The dough should start to come away from the sides of the bowl, but there will still be a little bit stuck to the edges. 

4. Remove it from the mixer and lift the dough onto your work surface. Give it a quick knead and shape it into a nice tight ball. The dough should feel smooth and pass the windowpane test when you stretch a small piece of the dough.

5. Lift it into a lightly oiled bowl, then lightly spray the top of the dough with an oil spray and cover the surface directly with cling film. Cover the bowl with a sheet of cling film too and refrigerate the dough overnight (12-18 hours). This will make it much easier to work with.

6. Before you are ready to work with the dough, prep a baking tray by cutting 6-7 squares of parchment paper and lightly oiling them before placing them on the tray. This will make it easier to transfer the donuts to the fryer. 

7. The next day remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Very lightly flour your work surface and lift the dough on. Lightly flour the top of the dough and a rolling pin, and roll the dough out, the shape doesn’t matter, but you want it to be around 12-15mm thick (0.5”).

8. Take an 80mm cookie cutter and dip it in a bowl of flour to make sure it doesn’t stick to the dough. Press the cookie cutter into the dough. Then take your 30mm cookie cutter, dip it into the bowl of flour and press this into the centre of your donut to create a hole. Lift your donut onto a sheet of parchment paper, then repeat with the remaining dough.

9. Very lightly oil the top of the donuts with an oil spray, and then cover the entire tray with a sheet of cling film and allow the donuts to rise for 2-3 hours at room temperature. In warmer weather, 2 hours should be fine, but when it is colder it will be closer to 3 hours. The donuts should look puffier and will have increased in volume when they are done. 

Vanilla Glaze

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, sift in the icing sugar then add the remaining ingredients, starting with 80g of milk.

2. Beat the ingredients together with the paddle attachment. You want the consistency to resemble a runny glue, so add more milk if needed. Once you have the desired consistency, beat for a further 30 seconds on a medium-low speed, ensuring all the ingredients are combined. 

3. Pour this into a piping bag, tie the end (so that the glaze doesn’t dry out) and set this to one side while you fry the donuts. 

Frying

1. When the donuts are close to being proofed, add the oil to your deep fat fryer (or a large pan) and heat it to 170C/340F. A deep-fat fryer is ideal here as it is able to regulate the temperature at a much more consistent level vs frying in a pan.

2. When the donuts are ready, drop 1 at a time into the oil, and slowly peel off the sheet of parchment paper.

3. Fry for 90 seconds, flip, fry for 60 seconds, flip, fry for 15 seconds, flip, fry for 15 seconds.

4. Remove your donut and place it on a wire rack, allowing any excess oil to drip off. After a minute, coat the donut in your vanilla glaze. Repeat with the remaining donuts. 

5. Best served the same day (I can’t not eat mine immediately!) 

202g Caster Sugar
36g Dextrose
3g Stabiliser
299g Water
10g Fresh Lemon Juice
450g Fresh Raspberries

Digital thermometer
Hand blender
Ice-cream machine

1. Pour the cold water into a saucepan and heat over a medium heat to 40C. In a bowl, stir together the sugar, dextrose and stabiliser and then pour into the water once it’s reached temperature. Whisk together until the mixture reaches 85C, then take off the heat and leave to cool to approximately 40C.

2. Once cooled, add the mixture to a bowl and pour in the lemon juice and raspberries. Blend briefly with a hand blender to combine (don’t blend for too long as you will start to blend the raspberry seeds, which will dull the colour of your sorbet). Pass the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, then cover the surface with cling film and put it in the fridge for 12 hours/overnight.

3. The next day, pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn for 20-30 minutes until it’s a thick, sorbet-like consistency. 

4. Transfer the sorbet into a container and freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.

French-Swiss Meringue

100g Egg Whites
100g Caster Sugar
75g Icing Sugar
Desiccated coconut for decoration (optional)

Passionfruit Cremeux

50g Egg Yolks
35g Whole Eggs
25g Sugar
75g Passion Fruit Purée
60g Unsalted Butter, Soft
1g Powdered Gelatin (200 Bloom) + 6g Water

Whipped Vanilla Chantilly Cream

600g Double/Heavy Cream
125g White Chocolate
5.5g Powdered Gelatin (200 Bloom) + 33g Water
1.5 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste / 1 Vanilla Pod

Tropical Fruit Salad

Whole Mango, chopped into small cubes
Seeds of 4 Passion Fruits
¼ Lime, Zested
3 Tsp Passion Fruit Purée

Assembly

100g White Chocolate, Melted
Lime, Zested

Stand mixer
Hand blender
Digital thermometer
3.8cm x 1.9cm half-sphere mould (15 hole)
Piping bags
Large round tip nozzle OR small cookie cutter

Passion fruit Crémeux

1. In a small bowl, add the water to the powdered gelatin and let it sit for 5 minutes

2. In a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, add the sugar, eggs, egg yolks and passion fruit purée. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and reaches 83C.

3. Once the mixture reaches temperature, pass it through a sieve into a bowl. Then, add the bloomed gelatin and butter on top and blend with a hand blender until smooth.

4. Add the passion fruit crémeux to your half sphere mould and use a palette knife to smooth the top of the mould to make sure they’re even. Freeze overnight/6 hours.

Whipped Vanilla Chantilly Cream

1. In a small bowl, add the water to the powdered gelatin and let it sit for 5 minutes

2. Add the white chocolate to a tall jug and add the bloomed gelatin on top

3. To a saucepan over a medium heat add 185g of the cream and the vanilla bean paste/vanilla beans and heat until it’s steaming. 

4. Once steaming, pour it over your chocolate and gelatin mixture and leave for 2 minutes. You want to make sure the cream covers the top of the chocolate. After two minutes, blend the mixture together with a hand blender. 

5. Once blended, add the remaining cream (415g) and blend again.

6. Pour the cream mixture into a bowl and cover the surface with cling film. Leave to chill in the fridge overnight/12 hours.

French-Swiss Meringue

1. Preheat the oven to 80C/175F Non-Fan Assisted

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and sugar.

3. Place this over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk constantly until it reaches a temperature of 55C/130F on a digital thermometer.

4. Once at temperature, remove it from the heat and place it onto a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk for 6-7 minutes on a medium speed, until the bowl feels cool to the touch and the meringue is thick. 

5. Remove it from the stand mixer and place a sieve over the top. Sieve in the icing/powdered sugar, and use a whisk to gently fold this in. We use a whisk because we want the icing sugar to incorporate easily, but we also want to knock some of the stiffness out of the meringue, just slightly, so that we get a softer texture for the design of the pavlova.

6. Add your meringue mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle. Flatten the mixture gently to remove any air bubbles.

7. Lightly grease the back of a half sphere mould (the same one you used for the passion fruit cremeux). I like to use an oil spray, but you can lightly brush a neutral oil over the mould.

8. Holding the piping bag vertically over one of the moulds, push down until the meringue covers the half sphere, then quickly do a ‘whip’ motion at the top to release the piping bag. Repeat with the other half spheres, spacing them out so the meringues don’t touch (they will expand slightly as they bake).

9. Lastly, sprinkly desiccated coconut over the meringue, making sure to hit the sides of the meringue. Then put the meringue in the oven for 3 hours. 

Tropical Fruit Salad

1. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and stir together

Assembly

1. Once the meringues are baked, leave them to cool for an hour then gently release them from the mould. 

2. Once cooled, gently grate the bottom of the meringues to create a flat surface for them to sit.

3. Melt the white chocolate over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, add a spoonful of white chocolate into a meringue cup. Tip the meringue to the sides to coat the inside of the cup, then tip out the excess chocolate. Put them in the fridge for 5 minutes until the chocolate has set.

4. Fill the meringue cups with tropical fruit salad so that it’s flush with the top of the cup. Then remove the frozen passion fruit cremeux half spheres from the freezer and add them on top.

5. Add the chilled whipped vanilla chantilly to a stand mixer and whisk until it forms a medium peak – about 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to over whisk it. Add it to a piping bag fitted with a round tip nozzle. Then, holding it vertically over the top one of your meringues, push down so the cream covers all of the sphere.

6. Zest a light dusting of lime over the top of the meringues. Serve roughly 30 minutes after removing the passion fruit cremeux from the freezer (to allow it time to defrost, but not to melt).

French-Swiss Meringue

200g Egg Whites
200g Caster Sugar
150g Icing Sugar / Powdered Sugar

Poached Rhubarb

2 Rhubarb Stalks, Washed + Woody Stalks Removed
Peel & Juice of ½ Orange
½ Vanilla Bean, Cut in half and scraped
135g Water
15g Grenadine
135g Sugar

Vanilla Chantilly Cream

300g Double/Heavy Cream
5g Icing/Powdered Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

To Decorate
Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar
Raspberry Powder (optional)

Stand mixer
Digital thermometer
Flexible dough scraper/large metal serving spoon
Silicon mat

French-Swiss Meringue

1. Preheat the oven to 80C/175F Non-Fan Assisted

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and sugar. Place this over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk constantly until it reaches a temperature of 55C/130F on a digital thermometer.

3. Once at temperature, remove it from the heat and place it onto a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk for 6-7 minutes on a medium speed, until the bowl feels cool to the touch and the meringue is thick. 

4. Remove it from the stand mixer and place a sieve over the top. Sieve in the icing/powdered sugar, and use a whisk to gently fold this in. We use a whisk because we want the icing sugar to incorporate easily, but we also want to knock some of the stiffness out of the meringue, just slightly, so that we get a softer texture for the design of the pavlova.

5. Using a flexible dough scraper or a large metal serving spoon, scoop up the meringue, then wipe it on the edge of the bowl. Scoop that bit of meringue up again, and wipe it on the edge of the bowl one more time, before scooping it up for a final time. This scooping/scraping action will help to smooth the meringue.

6. Wipe off any excess meringue on the dough scraper/spoon with your finger and then swiftly but gently, dollop the meringue onto a baking tray lined with a silicon mat/parchment paper. As you are pulling up, and dolloping the final bit of meringue, do it slowly to create a slight ‘flick’ to the pavlova. This is all best seen in the video! 

7. Repeat this to create 4 pavlovas in total.

8. Place these in the centre of the oven and bake them for 3 hours without opening the door. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. These can then be used straight away, or stored in an airtight container to use the next day. 

Poached Rhubarb

1. Remove the woody ends from the rhubarb, then chop it into small pieces, really whatever size you prefer. Place these into a shallow dish.

2. Into a saucepan, add all the remaining ingredients. Bring it to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Remove it from the heat to let it sit for a minute before pouring it over the rhubarb.

3. Place a lid on top of the dish or a large tray and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender but still has a slight bite. Drain the rhubarb from the liquid and set it to one side.

4. You can keep the sugar syrup to drizzle over the top of your finished pavlovas. If you want a slightly thicker syrup, place it back on the heat and boil until it has reduced and thickened. Then leave to one side.

Vanilla Chantilly Cream

1. Place the ingredients into a medium bowl and using a hand whisk/electric whisk/stand mixer, whisk it to a medium peak.

Assembly

1. Take a meringue and tip it upside down in your hands so the bottom is facing upwards. Holding it very gently to prevent it cracking, use a knife to carefully score a hole in the bottom of the meringue. You want quite a large hole, the same shape as the meringue, but don’t go too close to the edges. Keep going over the score lines until the meringue breaks free, then carve out the centre of the meringue with a spoon. If you want, you can keep the bottom of the meringue to add back once you have filled the meringue.

2. Scoop a little bit of chantilly cream into the shell, then add a few pieces of the poached rhubarb then top it up with more cream so that it is filled just to the top of the hole you created. 

3. Lift it up, place a plate on the meringue, and quickly and carefully flip it over so the meringue is now on the plate. Repeat with all four meringues.

4. Dust the meringues with icing sugar & raspberry powder (and add some of the rhubarb liquid drizzled over the top if desired).

5. This needs to be served immediately once filled.