Despite the name, traditional ginger beer is a sweet, carbonated, non-alcoholic beverage. The drink was popularized in Britain in the 18th century after traders brought spices from Asia and sugar from colonies in the Caribbean. It’s a unique drink with a unique flavor, and your friends from At Least We Fried feel a duty to fry some! These ginger beer doughnuts have the consistency you might expect from a spiced doughnut, but the ginger beer adds a level of flavor you won’t expect. If you can’t find ginger beer in your area you can replace it with two additional teaspoons of ground cardamom. Read on for our recipe for ginger beer doughnuts!
Ingredients
¼ cup softened butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
2 TSP baking powder
3 ½ cups flour
1 TSP salt
½ TSP ground cardamom
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
½ TSP vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
2 TBS ginger beer
1 Gallon frying oil (We suggest peanut oil)
Method
Step 1: Plug in your fryer and fill it with fryer oil. We recommend peanut oil, but there are a number of oils that will work.
Step 2: Turn on your deep fryer. If your fryer has an adjustable thermostat set the fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you own a small deep fryer without an adjustable thermostat you can still prepare this recipe, but make sure your oil has heated back up to the max temperature if you make multiple batches.
Step 3: Mix the first three ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat the mixture of sugar and butter, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Continue beating 1 – 2 minutes until the consistency of the mixture resembles tiny marbles.
Step 4: Add the eggs one at a time. Beat the mixture well after each egg. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla, stirring thoroughly.
Step 5: In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and ground cardamom. Mix the dry ingredients before mixing them into the buttermilk mixture. Mix the dough together completely. The final product should be sticky.
Step 6: Flour your rolling surface and your rolling pin. Roll out the dough onto the surface until it is flattened, approximately ½ inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut 3-inch dough rings in the dough. Next, cut a hole in the dough with a 1-inch cutter. Roll the remaining dough together and repeat this step until you have used up all of your batter.
Step 7: Allow the doughnuts and holes to rest on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Then, begin adding your doughnuts to the fryer in batches. The size of the batch will depend on your fryer volume. Be sure not to crowd the doughnuts and never try to fry more than six at a time. Allow the doughnuts to fry for approximately 1 minute per side. Once the doughnuts are golden brown, remove them from the fryer and let them rest on a paper towel-lined plate. Continue until all the doughnuts and holes are fried.
Step 8: While the doughnuts are frying, mix together the powdered sugar and ginger beer until it forms a syrup. Drizzle the syrup over the doughnuts and serve.
