Recipe: Parkdale bakery Glory Hole’s delectable chai-spice doughnuts

PREP TIME: 30 minutes COOK TIME: 16 minutes Makes 32 3-inch doughnuts or 40 quenelles.

CHAI SUGAR

1 cup granulated sugar 3 tbsp ground chai spice (see tip)

BATTER

5 cups cake and pastry flour ⅓ cup granulated sugar 1 ¼ tsp nutmeg ¼ cup baking powder 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp baking soda 2 cups buttermilk 2 eggs 1 cup butter, melted

1. Stir 1 cup sugar and chai spice in a medium bowl.

2. Sift flour, ⅓ cup sugar, nutmeg, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk and eggs. In a slow, steady stream, whisk in melted butter. Fold buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Do not over-mix. Let stand for 20 minutes before frying.

3. Cut pieces of parchment paper into 4 ½-inch squares. Spray or brush with oil. Using a piping bag with a ½-inch tip, pipe a doughnut that is 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep onto each square. Start with 6 doughnuts and 6 parchment squares. Once you start frying the doughnuts (see step 4), you can reuse the parchment squares for more of the batter. (Another option: instead of making doughnut shapes, you can use two large spoons to shape the batter into quenelles.)

4. When ready to fry, fill a large, deep pot halfway with vegetable oil, or use a deep fryer, and bring temperature to 375°F. Carefully slip the doughnuts off the parchment paper and into the oil. Fry for 1 to 4 minutes until golden.

5. Transfer to paper towels and pat dry. While the doughnuts are still warm, place in the chai sugar, then shake bowl and turn doughnuts to coat. Remove and serve.

TIP Jacot De Boinod favours Arvinda’s Chai Masala, a blend of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. It’s available at select Sobeys locations. You can also use ground chai tea.

ASHLEY JACOT DE BOINOD Ashley Jacot De Boinod worked as a pastry chef at Buca and Scaramouche before she crowdfunded enough money on Indiegogo to open her Parkdale doughnut shop in 2012. The city’s been on a sugar high ever since. She turns out addictive flavours, including Viva Puff (marshmallow and jelly drizzle), chocolate hickory (topped with Hickory Sticks) and the comparatively traditional crumble pie, which rotates fresh blueberry, strawberry and peach fillings depending on the season. Jacot De Boinod wouldn’t give us the recipe for her famous yeast doughnuts—the magician’s code and all—but her cake-style chai spice version is just as delectable.