dahl's doughnuts.

When I was younger my dad and I made doughnuts from this recipe book. Now, seeing as I don't live at home any more and haven't got the book with me, I thought I'd go online and search for the recipe; the hardest thing to find- so I got my mum to send me the recipe (and hopefully the book in the post).

For those who don't have the book, this is the recipe for Farmer Bunce's Doughnuts (from Fantastic Mr Fox without the foie gras!!)

Ingredients

100g soft brown sugar
50g unsalted butter
1 egg
450g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
good pinch of salt
2 tbsp hot water
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
4fl oz milk
vegetable oil for frying
caster sugar for coating

You will also need

2 plain round cutters, one bigger than the other to make wholey doughnuts
cling film

Method

1.Cream butter and sugar.
2.Gradually add the egg.
3.Add the remaining ingredients; the dough should be fairly stiff but smooth.
4.Wrap in clingfilm and fridge for two hours (ideally you could do this overnight, or if you're short of time like I was put it in the freezer).
5.Divide the dough in half and put the remaining half back in the fridge.
6.On a floured surface roll out dough to 1/4 inch and cut out as many doughnuts as possible.
7.While this is happening, heat your oil until it starts to sizzle.
8.Fry in small batches and drain on kitchen paper.
9.Finally, place some caster sugar in a bowl and coat your doughnuts.

And now me and Alex are off out to a friends and we're taking these with us as dessert. Enjoy your Saturday night.