Old-Fashion, Old-Fashion

Where a rye old-fashioned donut meets the classic cocktail

Listen, I am a donut person. As a self-proclaimed donut person, I can, with much authority, tell you that not all donuts are equal. You can line a path with warm raised, and I could easily crawl through, nose to the ground, without even stopping for a sniff. Switch them out with buttermilk bars, glazed old-fashioneds, even a jimmie-covered cake, and I’ll have crumbs in my hair within minutes.

#noregrets

The old-fashion cocktail has been having its moment lately, and its flavor profile quite nicely translates to the sweet side. Use a nice rye and fancy cherries to up the snob factor.

Old Fashion Donut
1/2 cup pumpernickel rye flour–toasted
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 Tbs unsalted butter-melted
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs rye syrup (see note)
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup buttermilk

Mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and set aside. In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars until fully incorporated but not yet fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg yolks, and rye syrup and mix until they lighten. Add the flour and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape from the bowl onto a lightly floured workspace. Form into a square, wrap in plastic, and place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 1 hour or as long as overnight.
When ready to make the donuts, remove the dough from the refrigerator onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the top with flour and roll out to 3/4″. Cut into bars. Using the back of a knife or a bench scraper, make a deep line down the length of the bar, careful not to cut all the way through. Place back into the refrigerator until ready to fry.
Place enough oil in a heavy pan to at least 2″. Heat oil to 325F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and fry in small batches, remembering that the cold dough will reduce the oil heat. Let the oil come back to temperature between batches. Fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side. The internal temperature of the donut should be 185-190F. Place on a cooling rack. Dip in the old-fashioned glaze.
Once the glaze is hardened, decorate with amarena or luxardo cherry and candied orange piece.

Rye Syrup
1 cup rye
1/4 cup (or so) candied orange peel
2 Tbs lemon-lime soda (optional)
Pour the rye and soda into a saucepan and add the candied orange peel. Heat over low heat for a minute, turn off the burner, and light the liquid on fire. Let the flame go out naturally. Remove the orange peel and place it in a dish of granulated sugar. Coat and use to decorate completed donuts. Use in donut dough and glaze.

Old Fashion Glaze
3 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbs tsp agar agar*
3 shakes of Angostura bitters
few drops of Fiori di Sicilia or a bit of orange zest
rye syrup

Place the powdered sugar and agar agar (if using) into a bowl. Add the Angostura bitters and the flavoring (and/or zest) and mix well. Add enough rye syrup to make a glaze slightly thinner than heavy cream.
*I use agar agar for my powdered sugar glazes as it hastens the hardening of the glaze. It can be an allergen, so use it with caution.

Apple Fritters

Mike planted 20 plus varieties of apples in our orchard. We have pie apples, sauce apples, snack apples, brandy apples and cider apples. To further the cause, our neighbor also grows a variety in her orchard. We are not starved for apples from late spring to early winter. Today, in the dense of early morning mist and chill, I picked the trees clean. Bushels and bushels of apples. A workout and a treat! These apples are slated for hard cider. I’m still gathering all of the supplies, but I will be pressing the apples this week, and starting the fermentation process straight away. I’ll keep you posted on the progress. With any luck it won’t end up like the root beer project of 2005. Spoiler alert, it ended with me in a delightfully rich, if not sticky, bath.
While you (and I) are waiting for the results of the cider…you may want to try making these delicious apple fritters.

apple fritters

Apple Fritters

for the apples
1 cup apples–cut in a 1/4″ dice
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs lemon juice
pinch cardamom
pinch nutmeg
pinch cinnamon
mix together in a bowl and let sit while you do your preparations
for the batter
1 cup apple cider
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs unsalted butter–melted
2 large eggs
oil for frying
Simmer the apple cider on the stove until it is reduced to 1/4 cup, and let cool. Heat your oil in a sturdy deep pot, to 360F. Your oil should be deep enough so the fritter can float, but you must also have at least 3″ between the top of the pot and the top of the oil. Meanwhile, place all your dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the center and pour in milk, vanilla, butter, cider and eggs. Slowly stir together, making sure all ingredients are incorporated, but do not beat. Stir in the apple and any juices that may have accumulated. you can make these small or big, the process is the same. Drop into hot oil and then using a spatula poke it a few times to flatten it a bit and give it some nooks and crannies. Fry until golden brown, then flip and continue until both sides are equally colored. Remove from oil and place on a cooling rack, placed over a sheet pan.
for the glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs (more or less) cider
Mix together in a shallow bowl. When the fritters are still warm, but not too hot to touch, dip in the glaze.