Carrot Currant Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Filling

There are trends in food blogging.  Have you noticed that?  Someone will come up with a great idea and everyone else will run with it.  These doughnuts are, in fact, inspired by all of the carrot cake things I have seen lately.  Muffins, whoopie pies, cakes, cookies, you name it, there have been carrot cake versions.  This is simply my contribution. 

I couldn't call them carrot cake doughnuts, though, because they are yeast doughnuts...it was too confusing.  I have seen carrot cake doughnuts, sold by a famous gourmet doughnut place in NYC.  I have seen them covered with cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with cute little orange rinds.  I wanted to be different.  I think it's a phase I am going through.  Anyway, I wanted to know why I hadn't seen any carrot cake yeast doughnuts.  After making them, I am still wondering.  They were pretty wonderful.

The dough is filled with carrots, currants, cinnamon and other spices.  The cooked doughnut is rolled in sugar while it is still warm.  The middle is filled with a basic homemade cream cheese frosting.  What' not to love?

Carrot Currant Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Filling: 

2 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

2 1/2 cups AP flour

1 egg

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cloves

1/2 cup finely shredded carrots

3 Tbsp currants

3 cups oil, for frying

sugar for rolling

1 8 ounce brick cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, warm water and teaspoon of sugar.  Set aside and let bubble for a few minutes.  In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, egg, butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves,  carrots, currants and yeast mixture until it forms a dough.  Knead for 8-10 minutes by hand or mixer.  Cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.  Punch down, and roll out to 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface.  Cut into circles or squares 2 1/2 inches across. 

(these aren't stacked..I don't know why those little ridges formed on the sides)

 Cover and let rise another 15 minutes.  Heat oil in a Dutch oven on the stove.  When a popcorn kernel pops in the oil, it's ready to cook the doughnuts (I think that's 350 degrees, but I have never had a deep fryer or electric skillet).  Put four into the oil at a time.  Fry for 40 seconds on each side.  Let drain slightly on paper towel or a wire rack.  Roll in sugar and let cool on a plate.  When cool, use a round frosting tip on a pastry bag to fill them with the cream cheese filling.

For the filling: beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.

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