Ghost Donuts
Nobody will be saying BOO! when they see these adorable ghost donuts this Halloween.These spooky cuties are really easy to make and only use a few simple pantry basics.
Why you will love these ghost donuts
Spooky and cute: These ghost donuts are perfect for any Halloween lover. They are not too scary so they are perfect for little ones. But you can drizzle them with a bit of edible fake blood or serve them with bloody popcorn for a gory gross option that is perfect for a horror movie marathon.
They taste amazing: Freshly baked donuts, made at home are always delicious. These soft, fluffy and warm donuts are the absolute best!
Simple ingredients: To make these you will need yeast, white sugar, milk, plain white flour, butter and an egg. You will also use a cooking oil for frying and icing sugar for dusting your donuts.
Easy to shape: You do not need special cutters to make these spooky donuts. Just roll your dough into an oval, cut out the eyes and mouth with the back end of a small piping nozzle then trim and cut the bottom edge. Perfectly adorable ghosts with barely any effort.
How to check the oil temperature when frying donuts
The perfect temperature for frying donuts is 180 degrees Celsius. If you do not have a thermometer to check this, you can use a piece of scrap dough. When the temperature is right, he dough should float to the top of the oil within about 10 seconds, fry each side until the dough is golden and then remove from the oil.
- If the oil is the right temperature, the dough will be a light golden color and evenly cooked through.
- If the oil is too hot the dough will be darker in color and the dough inside will not be baked through evenly.
- If the oil is too cold your dough will be very oily and will take a long time to achieve a golden color.
Preparing your donuts ahead of time
Nothing beats freshly fried donuts, but as these donuts use a yeast based dough it can be difficult to prepare them for any time earlier in the day. The great thing is, you can prepare the dough the night before and fry your donuts the next day. Thus means that you can have freshly baked donuts ready to share for any Halloween occasion.
Here is what you need to do to prepare your dough ahead of time:
Follow the recipe up to the point where your shaped donuts are left to rise. Instead of placing the donuts in a warm place to rise, place them on a large baking sheet, cover with cling film and place the tray into the fridge overnight or for up to 12 hours.
Remove the donuts from the fridge 1 hour before you want to fry them. This allows them to come up to room temperature and complete their final rise.
Fry and dust your donuts as you usually would from this point on.
For more Halloween treats, check out these recipes…
Graveyard milkshakes
Shortbread bone cookies
Homemade sherbet
Blood and bones – red velvet tart
Jam filled Halloween Pop tarts
Ghost Donuts
Ingredients
Method
- In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and milk. Set that aside for 10 minutes or until the yeast has gone fluffy.
- In a large bowl, rub together the butter and flour until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- Whisk the egg into the yeast mixture. Next, make a well in the center of your flour mixture and pour your yeast mixture and egg into the center. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined and the mixture has formed into a thick dough.
- Knead your dough for a few minutes until it forms a smooth ball.
- Grease a clean bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil. Place the dough into the bowl and spread the excess oil over the surface. Put the bowl in a warm spot and leave to proof for at least 1 hour or until doubled in size
- Knock the dough down. Remove the donut dough from the bowl and press it out onto a clean bench top. Use your hands to spread the dough out into a large rectangle. Fold the rectangle into thirds lengthwise and then into thirds again the other way. Return your folded dough to your bowl and leave in a warm place to rise again for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- When your dough has completed its second rise divide it into 12 even sized pieces. Shape each piece into a large flat oval shape. Use a small round cutter to cut 3 small holes near the center of your oval to be the ghosts eyes and mouth(the back end of a piping nozzle works great for this). Use a small sharp knife to make 2 small cuts at the bottom of your oval. Use your fingertips to round the edges off.
- Place your ghost donuts onto a large lined baking sheet to rise for about 45 minutes. When they are ready, they will be soft and will have visibly risen slightly.
- Sieve your icing sugar into a small bowl that is slightly wider than your shaped dough.
- Pour your cooking oil into a large saucepan and heat it at a medium-high heat until it reaches 180 degrees. Once you think that you have reached the right temperature, try frying a little of the scrap dough. The dough should bubble immediately when it enters the oil and float to the top within 10 seconds.
- Lay 2 sheets of paper towels onto a large dinner plate to collect the oil Begin to fry donuts 1-2 at a time. They should take 1–2 minutes on the first side before you need to flip them with a pair of metal tongs.
- Flip and fry the second side of the donuts for a further minute or until the donuts are fully golden and cooked through.
- Once cooked, remove the donuts and place them onto the paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Allow each donut to cool slightly before tossing it in icing sugar to coat.
- Repeat the process until all donuts are all cooked and coated in icing sugar.
Notes
Dust with extra icing sugar if you are serving these after the first day. The donuts will absorb the icing sugar over time and they may lose their powdery ghost look.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my ghost donuts recipe. I hope you enjoy trying this out for yourself. Please feel free to add any questions or comments below. I am happy to help out wherever possible and I would love to hear how this recipe worked out for you.
