Lemon Meringue Doughnuts

Lemon curd (make the day before): To make these lemon meringue doughnuts, start by preparing the lemon curd. Pour the lemon juice into a saucepan with 75 grams of caster sugar. Whisk vigorously and bring to a boil. You will obtain a boiling lemon syrup.

Zest the lime over the saucepan using a Microplane Classic zester-grater.

Meanwhile, pour the whole eggs into a bowl and add 100 grams of caster sugar.

Whisk the mixture until pale.

Pour the boiling syrup over the whisked eggs...

...and mix thoroughly with a whisk.

Transfer everything back into the saucepan used for cooking the lemon syrup...

...and cook the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes until it reaches a boil.

Continue cooking for 1 minute.

At the end of cooking, add the softened butter...

...and mix using a Bamix hand blender. At this point, add the previously hydrated gelatin. Mix well.

Strain the cream through a fine sieve or a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest (optional).

Press firmly with a flexible spatula to extract as much cream as possible.

Cover the container with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the next day.

Doughnut dough: Prepare all the ingredients.

Heat the milk in the microwave until it reaches about 35°C.

Pour the warm milk into the stand mixer bowl...

...and add the fresh baker's yeast.

Whisk by hand to fully dissolve the yeast in the milk.

Add the T45 flour...

...and the whole eggs.

Also add the caster sugar...

...as well as the fine salt...

...and the melted butter (cooled down beforehand).

Knead all these ingredients together using the dough hook attachment for 1 minute on low speed.

After one minute, you will have a rough dough. Scrape it off the sides of the bowl with a dough scraper, bringing all the mixture to the center.

Continue kneading for about 5 minutes on medium speed until the dough slightly comes away from the sides of the bowl.

This is what the result should look like.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl to gather the dough in the center.

Stretch a sheet of plastic wrap over the bowl...

...and poke holes with the tip of a knife. Place the bowl in a proofing chamber at 28°C for 1 hour. If you don't have a proofing chamber, place the bowl near a heat source such as a heater, or in an oven preheated to 30°C and turned off.

At the end of proofing, the doughnut dough should have doubled in volume.

Remove the plastic wrap.

Dust the surface of the dough with a little flour...

...and deflate the dough by punching it down.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. The 30 grams of T55 flour will be used throughout the kneading and shaping process.

Sprinkle more flour over the dough, as it is quite sticky, and continue kneading until it becomes manageable and no longer sticks.

Fold the dough over itself...

...and roll it out with a rolling pin to a uniform thickness of 1.5cm.

Stretch the dough well with the rolling pin until you get the desired thickness.

Transfer the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Roll out the dough once more...

...and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap (or a polyethylene sheet) in direct contact. Chill for at least 30 minutes (or 10 minutes in the freezer, but not longer).

Remove the firm dough from the fridge. Take off the plastic wrap.

Cut out dough discs using a round cutter Ø 10 cm...

...placing them as close together as possible to reduce waste.

Then cut out the center of each disc using a round cutter Ø 3.5 cm to create rings.

Remove the excess dough. The pastry scraps can be rolled out again to make more donuts. Leave to rise in the proofing chamber at 28°C for 1 hour.

Cooking: Heat a good amount of oil (preferably peanut oil) in a saucepan until it reaches 180°C. Using an infrared thermometer is recommended at this stage. You can also use a deep fryer.

After proofing, the donuts should have puffed up.

Slide the parchment paper onto the work surface and cut it with a blade around the donuts to avoid having to handle them with your fingers.

This is what the result should look like.

Pick up a piece of parchment and gently slide the donut into the hot oil at 180°C. If using a saucepan, make sure you regularly monitor the oil temperature.

After a few seconds, the donut will come off the parchment paper.

Fry the donut on one side for 1 to 1.5 minutes, until golden.

Flip the donut using a skimmer...

...and fry the other side for 1 to 1.5 minutes. The donut should be golden and soft. Remove it from the oil and place it on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Repeat the operation with the remaining donuts.

Fry the donuts on one side, cooking two or three at a time depending on the size of your saucepan.

Flip the donuts with the skimmer to fry the other side.

After frying, carefully remove the donuts from the oil...

...and drain them on paper towel.

Meringue: Pour the egg whites into the mixer bowl and add the caster sugar.
You have two options: either add the sugar from the start to obtain a smooth meringue that won't become grainy, or add the sugar halfway through, when the egg whites are well whipped; in this case, the meringue will be firmer but may turn grainy.

Then whip the egg whites until a meringue forms.

After several minutes of whipping, the meringue will gradually take shape. Don't hesitate to whip it well to achieve a firm and stable texture.

Cut the tip of a piping bag with scissors.

Insert a plain piping nozzle Ø 1.8cm into the piping bag. Then twist the bottom of the bag...

...and push the twisted part inside the nozzle. This sealing method ensures there is no leakage.

Place the piping bag on a stand and fill with the freshly made meringue. Set aside.

Finish: Roll the doughnuts in granulated sugar...

...to coat all sides evenly with sugar.

Insert a piping tip (same diameter as earlier) into a piping bag.

Secure the tip at the bottom of the bag.

Then twist the piping bag...

...and push the twisted part inside the nozzle to seal the bag.

Fill the piping bag with lemon curd. Give the cream a final whip beforehand.

Pipe the lemon cream into the hole of the doughnuts, forming a dome.

Pipe a second dome, this time with meringue, directly on top of the lemon cream, creating a peak.

Lightly caramelize the surface of the meringue using a kitchen torch, without applying too much heat to prevent the lemon curd from melting.

The lemon meringue doughnuts are now done. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!