"Maynard, Benedict & Freya - what an utterly outstanding experience. You have created something very special here. Thank you for sharing your years of skills & expertise with us. It have been a truly fulfilling (and filling!) week. However I cannot express how wonderful the friendship & camaraderie has been. We'll be sure to stay in touch and will always speak highly of our time here. Thank you for a very special time

Steve Wilson
Australia via Saudi Arabia!
June 2010

Walnut Grove Recipes

Homemade Doughnuts with Strawberry Compote

Makes 8

Ingredients
  • 225g strong bread flour
  • 30g caster sugar
  • 8g dried yeast
  • 50ml full fat milk
  • 85g softened butter
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 2 large punnets of strawberries (plus sugar to taste

Method

1. Using a mixer with a paddle, cream the butter & sugar until light & fluffy or by hand, with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs and mix for another 2 minutes.


2. Add the milk, incorporate, then add the flour & yeast and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Continue to work the mixture for another 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with a clean damp tea-towel and leave in a warm place to prove until it has doubled in size.


3. Transfer the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface and roll it out to about 1.5cm thick. Using approximately a 7cm round cutter cut out circles from the dough, then using a 2cm round cutter cut the hole out of the center. The mixture that is left over can then be reshaped into another doughnut.


4. Leave the dough to prove again until it has doubled in size, then deep-fry at 170° until golden brown, you need to turn them over half-way through the cooking. Remove from oil then toss them in a bowl of caster sugar until well coated. They are ready to serve. 


5. We serve them warm, with a strawberry compote and clotted cream ice cream. To make the compote cut the strawberries in half removing the green stalk, then gently heat in a saucepan with a sprinkling of sugar to taste, until the sugar is dissolved.

Serving Suggestions

The batter can be made the day before and kept in the fridge in an airtight container, but the donuts are best made just before you want to eat them.


Cooking courses and gourmet vacations available at 

https://thewalnutgrove.fr/

Walnut Grove cookery courses - a dream vacation - in wonderful surroundings

 

Experience the reality of gourmet cooking yourself. There is only one way to learn and that is to do it! Top chefs, luxury accommodation, set in France - the home of gourmet cuisine; what more could you ask for?

Your hosts and tutors are acclaimed chefs Maynard Harvey and Emerson Farrar, two modern chefs who use the freshest ingredients with an emphasis on distinct flavours and clean, meticulous presentation. Their passion and enthusiasm for cooking will stimulate your own love of food, and their expertise will help you gain confidence and perfect your technique in the kitchen.

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