Golden syrup jam doughnuts recipe | Dan Lepard

From the silver jammy-doughnut van parked at Victoria Market in Melbourne through to the custard-filled triumphs at the St John Bakery in Maltby Street in London, doughnuts get my heart racing. OK, the frying and sugar might be to blame, but as I live by the equation that "one walk equals one doughnut", I like to think these buns are made for walking. My friends Jim and Carole at Pippin Doughnuts, who sell at many farmers markets across southern England, get inspired with the flavours using apples, berries in season, and local dairy produce, so even the finish can excite you.But for those days when the market is too far to travel to, rely on these recipes: one quick and easy rich yeast dough, plus a baking powder quickie that has a surprisingly tender crumb. The softer you go with both doughs – by adding slightly more water that I suggest – the better, as it produces lighter doughnuts. But I'll leave that to you to experiment with.

Makes 10
7g fast-action yeast
225ml milk
? tsp ground nutmeg
50g cold unsalted butter, cubed
75g golden syrup
3 egg yolks
3 tsp vanilla extract
475g plain flour, plus more for rolling
25g cornflour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
Vegetable oil, for kneading and resting, plus lots for frying
Caster sugar and jam, to finish

1 Add the yeast to 50ml warm water, stir and leave for about 10 minutes.

2 Boil the milk, pour into a bowl then mix in the nutmeg, butter and syrup. Leave until warm, then beat in the yolks and vanilla.

3 Stir the yeast liquid into the yolk mixture then add the flour, cornflour, salt and cream of tartar. Mix?evenly until sticky and soft, then leave for 10 minutes. Lightly?oil the worktop, then scoop the dough on to it and knead for 10 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave for an hour or so to rise.

4 Using a little flour, roll the dough out to about 2cm thick, and cut out discs about 8-10cm in diameter. Place the discs on a well-oiled tray, cover with cling film and leave 60-90 minutes until almost doubled in size.

5 Pour vegetable oil, about 5cm deep, into a deep heavy-bottomed saucepan. The oil must reach no more than a third of the depth of the pan as it will bubble up during frying. Heat the oil to about 155C/310F. Fry the doughnuts a few at a time so they don't touch, for about 4-5 minutes, flipping gently every minute until golden and cooked. (Test the first one and adjust the time and temperature for the rest.)

6 When ready, remove the doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen roll for a minute, then toss in sugar until well coated. When warm, cut a slit in them and spoon in some warmed jam.

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