Blueberry Cheesecake Doughnuts

​​Firstly, Good Luck!!!! You'll be great and don't get worried by all the mess we're going to encounter. It will all be worth it... I promise!

Making the dough: Get all of the ingredients in the recipe in separate bowls and jugs, all measured and ready to go. This will make everything so much easier later on.

We’re only going to use one bowl for mixing our ingredients, and probably a wooden spoon unless you really want to get in there. I’d highly recommend using a plastic bench/dough scraper. They'll be fine! If not, use a sturdy spatula.

In your mixing bowl, add your warm water and warm milk, along with the yeast and a pinch or two of sugar, and mix well. Warm means not hot and not cold so please get this right. Let this rest for about 10 mins to activate the yeast. If you're using dry active yeast you’ll see this bubble up a bit. After this, add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix well. Now add your flour, sugar and salt (in that order).

Get your chosen spoon or hand, and start mixing. Use the spatula/scraper to clean the sides of the bowls. From now on, DO NOT ADD ANY FLOUR. Put it away, we’re not seeing it again until the next time you do this recipe.

When it’s still pretty messy and shaggy, pour it onto the counter. Use the spatula to fold the dough continuously, until you can get your hands involved and start kneading. It’s a nice dry dough, so it shouldn’t take too long to get to this stage. Friendly reminder, don’t worry about the mess - keep using your spatula/scraper to clean your surface and bring the dough together.

Knead for 6 to 7 mins! Start adding your butter, little by little, it will get messy and weird again, but keep calm! Do this for about 8 to 10 mins and keep kneading. The dough should become super soft, slightly sticky, but your hands and counter should be clean. You can also use the window pane test to see if the dough is ready.

Now place it in your mixing bowl just as it is, and cover with cling film. Let the proof for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on if the room is warm or cold. Once doubled in size, tip the dough onto your clean counter and cut it into 100g pieces. Make them into balls and place onto a square of parchment paper - press a dimple into the middle of the balls to flatten them out slightly.

Rest for 30 mins/1 hr depending on temp of the room and then we’re ready to fry! Neutral oil at 165°c for 4/5 mins each side - they should be golden brown, with a ring of lighter dough around the doughnut.

Rest them on a draining rack upright ready for the filling. Put some sugar in a bowl, and toss each doughnut to give you that sugar coat!

Making the jam: Super easy! Take your frozen berries, and add them to a cold sauce pan. Add the sugar and citrus and mix well, all whilst the heat is off. Turn the heat onto medium, and let everything dissolve and start to simmer.

Once simmering, just turn the heat down to medium low, and let it do its thing for an hour to an hour and a half. To cool the jam quickly, pour it into a heatproof bowl, and put it into the freezer for 20 to 30 mins… just don’t forget it!

Making the cheesecake filling: Whisk the cream cheese and sour cream together. Sieve in the icing sugar (we don’t want no lumps) and the vanilla extract, and continue to mix until everything is combined. That’s it!

The Finale: Once cold, pour the cream and jam into a piping bag, alternating between the two, the get a nice swirly finish to the filling. Poke a whole into the side of each doughnut with a knife, and start pipping! I like my doughnuts as full as you can get them, but it’s completely up to you! To be fancy, crumble up some digestive biscuits and sprinkle them on the top of the doughnuts.

And we’re done! You are amazing and now can open up that dream bakery!