Practice Makes Perfect – Eggs Benedict Doughnuts

There’s something masochistic about watching videos of young music prodigies on YouTube to wile away my precious time and make myself feel awful about my thoroughly average musical abilities. It hurts. But I keep doing it. In recent months I’ve tried dusting off my bow and revisiting the tried and true favorites whose fingerings and bowings I still can play in my sleep – Bach Cello Suite 1, The Swan, Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1. Then my freshly rosined bow touches the strings and the dreams are abruptly shattered by the screeching emanating from the horrid A string and the cramping in my left pinkie as I attempt a fat vibrato on a low F and the muscles in my bow arm seizing up half a page in.

I take it back. Listening to and forcing myself to play hurts more than enviously watching 12 year old virtuosos playing concertos with the Berlin Philharmonic.

In happy news, I’ve been improving. I can sit and play for 45 minutes without my back and shoulders screaming at me in pain and I can feel the calluses reforming on my fingertips. At times my vibrato almost sounds the way it used to and sometimes I can make it through a few lines of Bach without playing a note too egregiously out of tune. Does it still hurt? Yes, just a little less now.

Relearning an instrument you’ve neglected for a decade takes a lot longer than I optimistically (foolishly) imagined. But perfecting a doughnut recipe only took me about two weeks, so at least I have that to pat myself on the back for.

Eggs Benedict Doughnuts

Makes 8 doughnuts

I first tasted such a doughnut from Sidecar Doughnuts in Santa Monica. Recently I saw a video of them making these doughnuts and subsequently became mildly obsessed with recreating them at home. This is my version – not exactly the same, but pretty darn good if I may say so myself.

Doughnut Dough
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
2 tbsp warm water, about 100-105˚F
large pinch of sugar
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup milk, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (optional)
vegetable or canola oil for deep frying

Doughnut Filling
8 large eggs
16 slices prosciutto

Basil Hollandaise Sauce
4 large egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 handful fresh basil leaves, finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
8 fresh basil leaves

1. Combine the yeast, warm water, and pinch of sugar in a small bowl. The water should be warm to the touch but not so hot that it kills the yeast. Stir the yeast into the water and allow it to bubble up, about 5 minutes. If your yeast mixture fails to bubble, your yeast is dead – throw it out and try again with fresh yeast.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, milk, butter, sugar, egg yolks, salt, and yeast mixture on low speed until a rough dough forms.  If you plan on making 8 eggs benedict doughnuts, feel free to add some freshly ground black pepper. If you’d like to use part of the dough for sweet doughnuts, omit the pepper.
3. Increase the speed to medium high and mix for 3 minutes, until the dough is smooth and has pulled away from the bowl. The dough should feel smooth and just the slightest bit sticky.
4. Pull the dough off the hook and form into a ball at the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour to prevent a crust from forming, then tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1.5-2 hours.
5. After the dough has doubled in size, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a ball, then roll out into a large sheet about 1/4 inch thick. Using a round 4 or 4.5 inch cutter, cut out 8 doughnuts and place on a lightly floured sheet pan. Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap and allow the doughnuts to rise a second time, about 30-45 minutes. Discard the remaining dough (or cut into small pieces and fry for tasty fried dough scraps) – doughnut dough that is re-rolled will result in tough, flat doughnuts.
6. In the meantime, poach the eggs. Bring a large pan of water to a boil, then lower the heat to bring the water to a simmer. Crack the eggs one by one into a ladle or ramekin and gently slide each egg into the water. You may have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan. Poach your eggs for 8 minutes if you want a slightly jammy, gloriously runny yolk (see yolk porn photo below the recipe), or 9 minutes if you’d like perfect jammy eggs with minimal run (as seen in the photo immediately above the recipe). I used these handy silicone egg poachers, but you can easily poach the eggs the normal way and simply trim off any wispy egg whites.
7. About 10-15 minutes before your doughnuts are done proofing the second time, pour 2 inches of oil into a heavy deep skillet or Dutch oven fitted with a thermometer and begin heating the oil on medium heat to 350˚F.
8. Once your doughnuts have finished proofing, it’s time to fill them with egg and prosciutto. Take a round of dough and flatten it into a wide disc with your fingertips. Wrap two slices of prosciutto around a poached egg and place directly in the center of the disc. Pull the edges of the dough up around the egg, gathering them in the middle above the egg and pinching and twisting tightly to seal shut completely. Pinch off any excess dough and discard. Repeat this process with your remaining doughnuts.
9. Set a wire rack in a sheet pan and place it next to your frying station. Carefully drop the doughnuts into the 350˚F oil, 2 or 3 at a time depending on the size of your skillet/Dutch oven. Fry doughnuts for 2-3 minutes on both sides, turning them with a slotted spoon. Fry the sealed side slightly longer, as the dough there is thicker. Once the doughnuts are a deep golden brown all over, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on the wire rack to drain. Repeat this process until you have fried all your doughnuts, making sure to maintain the 350˚F temperature by adjusting the heat as needed.
10. Once you have fried off all the doughnuts, set them aside and make the basil hollandaise sauce. In a small saucepan, bring an inch or two of water to a gentle simmer.
11. While the water is coming up to a simmer, add the egg yolks and lemon juice to a heatproof bowl that fits over the small saucepan. Whisk vigorously until fully combined and the yolk mixture has thickened and doubled in volume.
12. Place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk rapidly for 20-30 seconds. Then slowly drizzle in the melted butter while constantly whisking until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume. If your sauce breaks, remove the bowl from the heat and try whisking in an additional egg yolk.
13. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in minced basil and salt and pepper to taste.
14. Transfer the basil hollandaise sauce to a small squeeze bottle. Poke a hole in the top of each doughnut and fill with hollandaise. Garnish the tops with a basil leaf each and serve immediately.

From one of my many iterations…failed in certain regards but the yolk turned out beautifully.