Doughnuts with Grapefruit Curd Recipe

Recipe

Doughnuts with Grapefruit Curd

Soft, Zingy, and Filled to Perfection. A Doughnut with a Citrus Surprise!

These doughnuts are golden, fluffy, and bursting with flavour thanks to their bold grapefruit curd filling.

Each bite strikes the perfect balance of sweet and sharp, with the soft, pillowy dough wrapped around a vibrant citrus centre. Whether you’re baking for brunch, dessert, or just because, these doughnuts are a seriously doughlicious way to treat yourself.

Why not get creative and swap the grapefruit flavour for another of your favourites?

Ingredients

Doughnuts:

1 tblsp ground flax seeds
3 cups (430g) plain flour
1/3 cup (80g) vegan butter – cut into cubes
1/2 cup (90g) golden caster sugar
1 cup (230ml) unsweetened almond milk (can sub with any plant based milk)
2 + 1/2 tsp fast action dried yeast
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Extra golden caster sugar for coating

Grapefruit Curd:

2 tblsp (20g) cornflour
1/2 cup (125ml) unsweetened almond milk (can sub with any plant based milk)
1/2 cup (90g) golden caster sugar
20 drops Foodie Flavours Grapefruit Essence
1 tblsp vegan butter

Instructions

Start with the donuts – put the flax seeds into a small bowl or mug with 3 tblsp cold water and set aside
Put the flour and cubed butter into a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer and rub the two together using your hands or a paddle attachment until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar
Gently warm the milk to blood temperature (this means that when you put your finger in it you can’t tell if it’s hot or cold) then whisk in the yeast. Leave to stand and froth for 2-3 minutes
Add the flax mixture to the milk then add this to the bowl of dry ingredients, mixing together until it forms a soft, slightly sticky dough
Put into a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to prove for around an hour or until doubled in size
While that’s proving make the curd – put the milk and sugar into a saucepan and the cornflour into a small bowl or mug
Add a tablespoon or so of the milk to the cornflour and whisk to a smooth paste
Heat the milk and sugar until just boiling then whisk in the cornflour paste. Continue whisking over a gentle heat until it starts to thicken
Whisk in the grapefruit essence and vegan butter then leave to cool slightly for a few minutes before pouring into a container
Lay a piece of parchment or cling film on top of the curd, making contact with it – this helps prevent a skin forming. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to use
Once the dough has proven, tip onto a well floured surface and roll out to 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. If you want fatter donuts roll out around 3/4 in (1 1/2 cm) thick. You will get less donuts the thicker you make them though!
Lay a piece of parchment or silicon mat onto a large tray and brush with a little oil – this helps prevent the dough sticking so that you can easily left them when you’re ready to fry
Use a 3 inch (7 1/2 cm) cutter to cut circles then lay each one onto the tray, spacing reasonably well apart as they will grow
Prove in a warm place until puffy and well risen
Heat a good amount of oil (at least 1 inch deep) in a large pan. Carefully lift a donut off the tray (I use a fish slice for this) and gently drop into the oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan – I cook 3-4 at a time only
While they’re frying lay a couple of sheets of kitchen paper onto a tray and put some sugar into a bowl
Turn the donuts after a minute or so or when the underside is golden
Cook on the other side for another minute or so then lift out of the oil with a slotted spoon and lay onto the kitchen towel, gently turning to drain off as much excess oil as possible
Drop into the bowl of sugar and turn to coat. Set aside on another tray to cool
Repeat until all the doughnuts are cooked, changing the kitchen paper after every couple of batches
Use the end of a wooden spoon to poke a hole in the side of each donut, pushing the spoon in the centre to make a well
Fit a piping bag with a thin nozzle and spoon in the grapefruit curd. Pipe around 1 tblsp of curd into each donut – don’t overfill or it’ll just ooze back out!
If they last that long, store the donuts in an airtight container