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Rose & Lychee Zonuts

Iron Chef Shellie
Print Recipe
Servings 24

Ingredients
  

Zonuts

  • 62.5 g fresh yeast or 31g active dry yeast
  • 435 g cold water
  • 1 kg plain flour
  • 25 g salt
  • 120 g caster sugar
  • 50 g unsalted butter
  • 450 g unsalted butter extra, rolled out into a 16 x 20cm sheet between cling film
  • Canola vegetable oil or rice bran oil, to deep fry

Lychee Crème Pâtissière

  • 6 free-range eggs yolks only
  • 140 g caster sugar
  • 50 g plain flour
  • 15 g cornflour
  • 500 ml full-fat milk
  • 25 g unsalted butter chopped into 1cm cubes
  • 1 x 450g tin lychees drained, finely chopped

Mini Macarons

  • 75 g ground almonds sifted
  • 75 g icing sugar sifted
  • a few drops of pink gel food colouring
  • 55 g free-range egg whites
  • 75 g caster sugar

Fondant Glaze

  • 300-400 g fondant
  • 1 tsp rose water

To Decorate

  • fresh raspberries
  • dried edible rose petals

Instructions
 

  • Put all ingredients, except the rolled butter sheet into the bowl of your Sunbeam Zumbo Limited Edition Mixmaster®, fitted with the dough hook attachment. Start on low speed. Mix on low-medium speed for 2 minutes, then mix on medium speed for 4-5 minutes to develop the gluten.
  • Place the dough in a clean bowl and leave to rest, covered, for 30 minutes at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to chill.
  • Remove the butter sheet from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you’re ready to use the dough to allow the butter to soften slightly. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a flat sheet 35-40cm long and 15-20cm wide. Lay the butter sheet in the middle of the dough and fold the sides in to make an open-ended parcel. Using the rolling pin, hit the folded dough lengthways to soften and flatten a bit and make the first roll easier. Roll the dough lengthways using the rolling pin, and continue until it’s 5-6mm thick. Fold the dough into thirds and repeat the rolling process. Rest for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator. Repeat the folding and rolling twice more for a total of four times. Rest the dough for a further 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
  • Line a tray with greaseproof paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to 6-7mm thick. Cut out the rounds of dough with a 6cm round cutter, then cut a small hole in the middle with a 1.5cm cutter. Place the zonuts on the prepared tray.
  • Fill your kitchen sink with hot water to a level of about 2cm. Place a small dish in the sink and stand a wire rack on top so the rack sits just at the surface of the water. Place the tray with the zonuts on top. Cover the sink with tea towels and leave the zonuts to double in size. You may need to change the water a few times as it cools.
  • Half fill a medium sized saucepan or deep fryer with oil and heat to 180-190C or until a cube of bread turns golden brown in 15 seconds. Carefully place the zones in the hot oil and fry each one for 30 seconds. Turn over and cook until lightly golden. Remove using tongs or a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to dry.
  • For the lychee crème pâtissière, whisk the egg yolks, 70g of the sugar and all the flour and cornflour in a large bowl until smooth
  • In a medium sized saucepan, heat the milk and the remaining 70g sugar. Stir in a third of the hot milk to the egg mix and whisk vigorously until smooth. Add the rest of the milk and whisk until combined, then quickly transfer the mixture to a pan set over a low/medium heat
  • Stir the crème pâtissière constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the butter and lychees. Sprinkle icing sugar on top to prevent a skin forming and transfer to the fridge to chill.
  • To make the mini macarons, preheat the oven 180C, and line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper
  • In a bowl, combine the ground almonds, icing sugar and food colouring then set aside. In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites on the fastest speed with the Super-Scraper Whisk until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed
  • In a pan, heat the sugar and 35ml water to 118C (use a sugar thermometer to measure this). While whisking, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites to make a stable meringue. Then gently fold in the almond and icing sugar mixture until completely combined. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe 2cm circles onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Set the macarons aside to form a crust, for at least 30 minutes.
  • To make the fondant glaze, heat the fondant and rosewater in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water or in a microwave. If the fondant is still too thick for piping, add a small amount of water.
  • To assemble: stand the zonuts on a baking try with the bottom side up. Use a skewer to make four evenly spaced holes in the bottom of each zonut. Place the Lychee Crème Pâtissière into a piping bag fitting with a 5mm piping tube. Insert the tip of the tube into one of the holes in the bottom of the zonut and squeeze about a teaspoon into each hole until the zonut is filled. Repeat with remaining zonuts. Heat the fondant to 28C in a microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Put the fondant in another piping bag fitting with a 5mm piping tube, and pipe the fondant in a circle around the flat top of each zonut. Decorate with a fresh raspberry, a mini macaron and dried rose petals. These are best eaten within 4-5 hours of making.

Notes

Adapted from Adriano Zumbo & James Morton (Great British Bakeoff)