Have you ever been sitting in front of your television engrossed in an animated show or movie, and a food that the character was munching on jumped out at you as being utterly delicious? The doughnuts in ‘The Simpsons’ do this to me every time! They have become famous due to their depiction as large, pink, and frosted treats with sprinkles, which are a beloved food of the main character, Homer Simpson. They are simple, deep fried, cakey doughnuts dipped in an iconic pink glaze and topped with an even more iconic dash of sugary sprinkles.
Getting the (Dough) Ball Rolling
In order to make the dough, first measure out all your ingredients. Accuracy and precision is key here. Start by adding the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix the ingredients together before adding in your egg, egg yolk, and milk.
Allow the mixture to come together into a cohesive dough before adding in the softened butter and vanilla essence.
Continue mixing and kneading the dough until a smooth dough forms. Cover the dough and allow to prove for 20 minutes or until the dough has expanded.
The Doughnuts
Once the dough has sufficiently proved, roll out the dough to about a ¼ inch (thick). Cut out the doughnuts (be sure to keep the center holes for frying) and cover them again for another 20 minutes to prove further. Any off cuts can be brought together and rolled again and cut out.
Next, heat up your oil. Once the oil reaches 350-375°F, drop in your doughnuts and fry (flipping halfway) for a bout 2 minutes, or until they turn a golden brown color. Drain the fried doughnuts on a paper towel and allow them to cool completely before glazing.
Glazing
To make the glaze, mix together the icing sugar with the pink food coloring and a dash of water. Whisk together until the mixture becomes smooth. You can add more water to thin out the glaze, or more icing sugar to thicken it up. You’re looking for a consistency of a thick glaze that will stay on the doughnut once it’s dipped.
Dip the cooled doughnuts and immediately top with the iconic multi-colored sprinkles and serve! Now when you get a hankering when you watch Homer munch on one of his doughnuts, just whip up a batch yourself!
Homer Simpson Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 250 Grams Flour
- 8 Grams Yeast
- 8 Grams Salt
- 25 Grams Sugar
- 25 Grams Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 75 Ml Milk
- 15 Ml Vanilla Extract
- 100 Grams Icing Sugar
- 1/8 Tsp Pink Food Coloring
- 1/4 Tsp Sprinkles
Instructions
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl.
- Once combined, add the whole egg, yolk, and milk and mix until a dough forms.
- Add the butter and vanilla extract and continue kneading until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough and allow it to prove for 20 minutes.
- Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut out the doughnut shapes. Allow the dough to prove for an additional 20 minutes.
- Fry in 350°F oil until golden brown.
- Mix icing sugar with pink food coloring and a splash of water, and combine to form glaze.
- Once doughnuts are cooled, dip them in the glaze and decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why not bake the doughnuts instead of deep frying?
The doughnuts can most certainly be baked at 350°F for 10 minutes until golden brown. Baking the doughnuts would be a much healthier option as frying in oil adds calories to the dish. But be warned, nothing really compares to a fried doughnut. It’s hard to imagine that Homer Simpson, of all characters, would enjoy a baked doughnut over a deep fried doughnut!
- Is this recipe achievable without a standing mixer?
Yes it is! You can mix the ingredients for the dough by hand. Then, knead until a smooth dough consistency is formed. This method requires more time and elbow grease, but it is definitely doable.
Tips to Improve or Alter the Recipe
1. The topping glaze can be substituted with the following:
- Chocolate – add a teaspoon of cocoa powder to the icing sugar
- Coffee – add a ¼ teaspoon of instant coffee to water and mix into the icing sugar
- Vanilla – swap out the food coloring for vanilla extract
2. You can even toss the fried doughnut (while hot) into flavored sugars such as cinnamon, vanilla, or maple.
3. If you don’t want to cut out the dough into the iconic doughnut shape, simply portion it out into balls of 20g each and fry. These can then be filled with a number of creams or fillings and also prevents any dough being wasted.
4. Savory fillings can also be used to top or fill your doughnuts! You are only limited by your imagination!
Things to Serve With
These scrumptious snacks can work as a quick breakfast. If you are craving a sugar high, a scoop of ice cream won’t go amiss. But truly, these doughnuts work fine all on their own.
Tips for Storage
The dough can be frozen for about 6 months if frozen prior to being proved. It would need to be thawed before rolling out and shaping. Simply freeze until you need it!
Once fried, the doughnuts can be kept for about a week in the refrigerator before eating. However, the best time to eat them is straight out of the fryer, once they cool down of course.
Final Words
Make like a cartoon character and enjoy this rendition of an animated classic. Give these Homer Simpson doughnuts a try.
As always, thanks for reading and be sure to keep your kitchen Hot and Salty!
