Fabulous Follower Friday: Dcider {Apple Fritter Donuts with Dcider Caramel Sauce}

One of P11's first and most fabulous followers were the good folks at Dcider. Which was fantastic because well, personally I have never met a bottle of cider I don't like - mostly to my own detriment. There is a story floating around about me spending a day in Dublin on the Bulmers and falling into a gutter, but really, no one needs to know about that!

Source: dcider.com.au

Dcider is made in the beautiful Southern Highlands, one of my favourite places in the whole world, and shares P11's signature hot pink. So it was clearly meant to be! Even better, I was able to pop over to Camden Produce Market and pick up a neat little six pack on a cold Saturday morning a few weeks ago.

Dcider is fresh and light, not syrupy or sickly sweet like other ciders. And I’m always cheered by their fun packaging and attitude. It’s just cool and whimsical. Like (I think) I am.
　

With all my might, I held off on drinking all six bottles so that I could try and make something fab for a Fabulous Follower Friday post. So, I give you Apple Fritter Donuts with Dcider Caramel Sauce.

This one is half naked so you can see inside. By the way, do you like my new Byron Bay Chopping Board?? Love!

　

This was an idea that I had floating around in my head for a little while and I had no idea whether it would work. Judging from the looks I got when I sought some advice on how I might make them, those reservations were shared by pretty much everyone else. I guess it does sound a bit out there. I wanted to make a donut with a ring of crisp sour apple in the middle, and some cider caramel sauce to pour over them.

Well, as you can see from these photos, they worked out fantastically well! They are delicious and although they take time, they are very much worth the effort. While I wouldn’t dream of making these for a large group, they are a perfect Saturday afternoon project, to serve when having a few friends over. The sauce is great over the donuts and if you have some left over, use it up with some ice cream.

Oh heck, have the donuts, the sauce and the ice cream. See? Cool and whimsical.

Thanks for the follow Dcider!

Apple Fritter Donuts with Dcider Caramel Sauce (Makes 10)

 

 

Apple Fritter Donuts 

Ingredients
 

1 cup milk

1 cup caster sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 eggs, beaten

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups sifted plain flour (plus extra for rolling out)

Vegetable oil

2 large apples (preferably granny smith or other sour apple)

Additional sugar and cinnamon for coating (optional)

 

Instructions

 1. Beat sugar and butter in a medium bowl until pale and creamy. Add eggs and mix until combined, then add milk and mix until combined.

2. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

3. Gradually add liquid mixture to flour mixture beating well.

4. Knead dough lightly on a floured work surface. Add extra flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. (If dough becomes too dry, add additional milk)

5. Roll dough out to about 1 cm thick. Use a donut cutter to cut out all of the donuts. Leave them aside for the moment.

6. Slice apples horizontally and remove the core. The donut cutter works best to do this so that the holes match up.

7. Take one of the donuts, place a piece of apple on top and cover with another of the donuts. Pinch the edges of the donuts, inside and out, to join them together.

8. Fry the donuts in the oil for approximately 2-3 minutes each side. It might take a bit of practice for the first few to get the timing right, depending on the temperature of the oil. (I've seen most people suggest maintaining a temperature of 375°F for best donut results.

 

9. Remove donuts with a slotted spoon, draining off the excess oil as you go. Immediately plunge donuts into a mixture of sugar and cinnamon if you like.

 

Dcider Caramel Sauce

To make the sauce from scratch, place 4 cups of Dcider and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence in a saucepan and let the liquid reduce by half. This can take some time, depending on your stove. Then add 1 cup of brown sugar and 60 grams of butter to the mixture. Let it boil and thicken slightly. This will produce a pouring sauce for the donuts.

Otherwise, place 400 grams of caramels and ¼ cup of thickened cream into a saucepan. Let the mixture melt and combine. Then add ½ to 1 cup Dcider to the mixture, depending on how thick you want the sauce to be.

(Thanks to South Philadelphia Tap Room and Epicurious for the inspirations!)