Polish doughnuts (Pączki)

1. To make the leaven, mix the yeast with the sugar and flour, stir in the warm milk and leave somewhere warm for 30 minutes.
2. For the dough, put the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl with the sugar and vanilla sugar. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until smooth and thick.
3. Sift the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the beaten yolks and warm cream and mix well, then add a pinch of salt and the leaven. Bring it together into a dough and knead for 10 minutes (or 15 to 20 by hand).
4. When the dough stops sticking to your hands, pour in the cooled melted butter and knead for a few minutes more. Cover with a cloth and leave somewhere warm to rise for at least 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.
5. Mix the jam with the ground almonds and spoon into a piping bag or jam syringe. Divide the dough into 16 pieces, shape into doughnuts, then cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
6. Fill a deep pan or fryer a third full with oil or melted lard and heat to 180C. With no thermometer, drop in a small piece of bread; the oil is ready when it browns in about 30 seconds. Fry the doughnuts, turning once, for about 1 to 2 minutes a side (a thin pale ring should form round the middle). Drain on kitchen paper, then fill with the jam.

Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen

• Allow the dough a good long rise so the doughnuts come out light and airy.
• Keep the oil steady at 180C: too hot and they colour before the centre cooks, too cool and they drink up grease.
• Look for that pale ring round the middle, which shows the dough has risen and fried properly.
• Fill them while they are still slightly warm so the jam slips in easily.