When you’re in the mood for something yummy (and fast), you can’t go wrong with homemade donuts.
While my schedule of projects, assignments… and everyday life have kept me pretty busy lately (I’m sure you’re ultra-busy too), I love when I’m able to find time to make something that I don’t normally make.
These yummy-filled, homemade donuts fit the bill perfectly.
These little dough balls were fun to roll into shapes. Kneading and working with flour-dusted dough is like therapy to me.
While I primarily make food and desserts to share and enjoy with family and friends, I also whip up dishes, just to improve my storytelling through photography.
I’m always looking for ways to present ingredients, prep-work and process in ways that evoke a mood or particular feeling.
For example, I think the simple act of sprinkling flour on a wood table in the above photo, adds personality, a little more interest and a sense of immediacy.
Yes, it’s entirely staged but the presentation gives the viewer the sense that they’e right in the middle of the food prep.
Earlier this summer, I tried my hand at making strawberry-cherry jam and since it turned out fairly well, I was able to use it in these donuts.
In addition to using some of the homemade jelly as filling for these donuts, I also decided to fill half of them with a creamy, homemade lemon curd too.
You can find the lemon curd recipe that I used for these donuts, HERE.
As much as I love how lightly crisp these donuts cooked up, I appreciate how they photographed even more.
If you look closely at the photo below, you can actually see the texture of the donut browned dough.
In case you’re wondering, I used a 100mm macro lens for this photo which is a great way to capture tiny details that you might not otherwise see.
Keep scrolling for the full recipe.
Homemade Donuts
Ingredients
- 2 envelopes active dry yeast .25 ounce packages
- 1/4 cup warm water 115 degrees
- 1-1/2 cups lukewarm milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup butter
- 2-4 cups jam, lemon curd, favorite filling
Instructions
- Add dry yeast to warm water and allow to stand for 10 minutes, until foamy
- Fit mixer with dough hook. Mix yeast mixture, eggs, milk, salt, shortening, sugar and 2 cups of the flour together.
- Add remaining flour slowly and continue to mix until the dough is smooth.
- Place dough into a large greased bowl and cover to rest for 1 hour.
- Look for dough to double in size.
- Gently flour a working surface.
- Roll the dough out onto the floured surface.
- Fill a 1/4 cup measuring spoon with the dough and roll into a ball.
- Place rolled dough ball on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and continue making 1/4 cup-filled dough balls.
- Cover dough ball with a kitchen towel and allow the balls to rest in a warm spot for 1 hour.
- Heat vegetable oil to 350-degrees.
- Use a long spoon to gently drop several ball into the hot oil.
- Watch balls carefully because it won't take long for them to fry.
- When you see slight browning around the edge of the ball, use long-handled spoon to flip the ball over to fry on the other side.
- Remove from oil and place on a wire rack covered with a paper towel to drain.
- Fit pastry bag with a piping tip and fill bag with desired filling.
- Pierce both ends of the fried donut with the piping tip and squeeze the filling into each end of the donut.
- Set on tray and lightly dust with confectioner's sugar.
- Serve and enjoy.
The impending holiday season is a great time for me to practice food photography skills even more because so much of the season revolves around good food.
There are so many new (and a few old) recipes that I want to try this season, I hope I can get to them all.
Of course, as always…. I’ll share them with you too.
Once you start making your own donuts, it can get pretty hard to go back to store-bought.
Thanks for stopping by.
I hope you give these yummy-filled, homemade donuts yourself.
Let me know how they turn out for you.
See you back here next time. ♥
I love the one you have with the window it’s blown out and the donut rolls are front and center. Wish I were there — of course I’d be jabbering asking you all sorts of questions. I’ve got two questions for you, what is your favorite subject to shoot and your least or most challenging? Oh, and do you ever make your family wait for the food so you can get THE shot?? That’s my biggest downfall. Hard to take photos with a bunch of hungry people lurking in the background ready with their pate. 🤣 Sending love and hugs!!
Marisa, if only we were neighbors-lol.
You know, I’d have to say my favorite subject to shoot (right now) is food.
I just love the act of styling and finding and using various props and textures to enhance the dish.
Least favorite… is anything moving. I still struggle with taking stills that move-lol.
Yes, my family has to wait. In fact, they know to ask if I’ve gotten all my pictures first before they take a bite.
My hubby always asks me if the food is for him or for pictures-lol.
Happy holidays to you too!
Lisa,
Here I am scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, and Blogs in the middle of the night. Your yummy filled donuts are making me so hungry, I am going to have to get up and make a snack. I saved this to my Pinterest board, Cuisine, so I can find this recipe in the depths of February when life slows down for me to try some new recipes.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Judith
Thanks so much, Judith.
These donuts are definitely easy and I think you and your family will love them.
They’re also yummy anytime of year too, which is always a plus.
Hope all is well on your end.
Happy holidays to you.
Hi Lisa, your photography gets better and better. I’m definitely going to try this recipe over the holidays period. Great job your visual story telling is so powerful.
Oh, Cristina, I really appreciate your kind words.
I’m glad the recipe appeals to you too.
Do let me know how it turns out for you.
Happy holidays (I can’t believe it’s that time of year again, already) to you too.
Wonderful photos! I want to try some “closer” photography. I have a 16-50 OSS lens (f 3.5- 5.6). I’ve been looking at a 30mm f 3.5 that I think will let me do some close ups and still be a good all purpose “street photography” (i.e. good to travel with)lens. I’ll talk to my photo store. Thoughts from you?
Thanks so much, Nancy.
Honestly, I’m not that familiar with the two lenses you mentioned.
I remembered when I bought my 100mm macro canon lens, I was inspired by other photographers who raved about capturing their pictures using the 100mm. This was many years ago, and I don’t even remember doing that much research at the time other than using the recommendations of those whose work I already admired.
Having said that, I don’t think you can go wrong with the 100mm. I use mine for much more than just closeup/macro photography.
When I use it at a small distance (for food photography), it adds a nice shallow depth of field giving me that nice blurred background that appeals to me.
I hope this helps.
Happy day to you.
Lisa – my mouth is watering. Beautiful photos.