Sweet Potato Doughnuts
Potato doughnuts like these occupy the magical space between cake and yeast doughnuts.
These doughnuts are 💯 - but the prep isn't quite as glorious. The dough required lots of extra flour to keep it from being so, so sticky. That being said, they are a real treat, and no one expects the sweet potato. A nice little surprise, or a justification for eating them (the sweet potato negates all that butter and oil, right??).
Ingredients
Doughnuts
1 large sweet potato (about 12 ounces or 350 grams)
3 tablespoons/42 grams unsalted butter
1/2 cup/236 milliliters whole milk
1 envelope/2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
1/2 cup/99 grams granulated sugar
1/2 cup/106 grams light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
4 cups/480 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
4 cups neutral oil for frying
Toppings
Glaze
1 1/2 cups/170 grams powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
pinch of ground cardamom
Cinnamon Sugar
1/2 cup/50 grams granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Add-Ons
1/2 cup nuts (I used leftover baklava filling, but any finely chopped nut will do)
1/4 cup sprinkles
Special equipment: candy thermometer
Preparation
Prick the sweet potato all over with a fork and cook it in a microwave at high power for 10 minutes, until tender. Let cool, then peel and puree the sweet potato; you should have about 1 cup.
In a small skillet, cook the butter over moderate heat until nutty and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Keep a close eye as it cooks; it can burn very quickly (I went through three batches as a result of not keeping a close enough eye on this). Scrape the browned butter and solids into a small bowl and let cool.
In the same skillet, heat the milk until just warm, about 115° F. Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast and let stand for 5 minutes. Gently mix in the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, salt, vanilla seeds, and nutmeg. Add the sweet potato puree, browned butter and solids, egg and egg yolks and beat until combined. Add the flour and beat at medium speed until the dough is evenly moistened, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to moderately high and beat until a soft dough forms, about 5 minutes. Gather the dough into a ball and transfer to a buttered bowl. Cover and let rise in a draft-free place for 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and let stand for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/2 inch thick. Using a 2 3/4-inch round cutter, stamp out as many rounds as possible. Using a smaller round cutter (1 inch; I used a screw top wine bottle cap), stamp out the centers. Transfer the doughnuts and holes to 2 parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the doughnuts and holes rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Fit a medium saucepan with a thermometer. Pour oil to come about 3" up sides of pan and heat on medium to 325°F. In small batches, fry doughnuts until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Let cool slightly on a wire rack lined with paper towels. Toss still-warm doughnuts in cinnamon sugar or drizzle with glaze. Alternately, cool doughnuts completely and dip in glaze for opaque finish. Top with chopped nuts or sprinkles.
Glaze
Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and cardamom in a medium bowl until no lumps remain.
Cinnamon Sugar
Whisk cinnamon and sugar in medium bowl.
