Delicata Donuts 🍩
I’ve been making these donuts for years! I first saw them in Josh McFadden’s book, six seasons, and I have been tweaking them and doing my own thing ever since. If you never had delicata squash, it is an excellent versatile, mild squash. Naturally, when sliced and seeded, it has the shape of a donut.
The biggest tip here is pre-baking your squash. Do this in a low oven, 275° will do it, for about 20 minutes. No need to oil or season them, we don’t want any color we’re not trying to impart any flavor we just want them a little tender so they have less time in the fryer. You can even do this step ahead of time and keep them in the fridge if you’d like.
For the batter, you can use any traditional tempura batter recipe, I have some fresh milled amaranth flour, which is a delicious gluten-free alternative, but feel free to use all purpose if you’d like. You can also omit the beer if you want to keep it, gluten-free and sub for some club soda. Basically, the carbonation is what’s really going to help with the tempura. Immediately after mixing you want to drag your donuts and go straight into the fryer fryer
Salt your donuts as soon as they come out and plate them however you please. I always opt for something sweet, something salty, and something with a crunch.
Tempura Recipe:
150g AP flour
40g corn starch or potato starch
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
200ml or so of cold club soda!
Full how to video lives on my YouTube!
PS. If you save those seeds, give them a good wash and toss them in some olive oil, salt and whatever other spices you’d like and bake them for 15 minutes or until golden in a 375° oven