These doughnuts are not the greasy, sickly sweet, glazed variety. These deliciousness morsels are bready but light and fluffy. Just perfect.

I am pretty sure these doughnuts can be classified as a health product:

- They are baked, not fried. Calorie free cooking.
- They are full of air bubbles. Air is calorie free.
- They contain orange zest. Orange is a fruit.
- If you add a high fruit content jam that is another fruit portion.

Not that you need the above excuses to make them and gobble sixteen. Get to it. Now. They are amazing. Remember to add the butter. Do not get to the end and wonder why your dough is not sticky only to realise you forgot to add the butter. I will make my way to the dunce corner now.

Gobble sixteen you say? If I must.

For the doughnuts
75ml whole milk
10g dried active yeast
425g strong white bread flour
75g golden caster sugar
½tsp salt
2 medium eggs, beaten
1 unwaxed orange, finely zested
75g unsalted butter, softened

For the coating
25g unsalted butter, melted
golden caster sugar, as required

optional
5tbsp jam of your choice

Method

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the middle and add the orange zest. Set aside.

Heat the milk in a saucepan until just below boiling then leave to cool until hand-warm. Add the yeast with 1tsp of sugar. Whisk the mixture and leave in a warm place until the yeast forms a thick foam on top of the milk.

Add the beaten eggs, softened butter and the yeasty milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix using a wooden spoon until the ingredients come together to form a soft dough.

Tip the dough onto the work surface and knead for five minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. You will have a sticky dough (if you remember to add all the ingredients). Form into a ball and transfer to a clean bowl, cover with cling-film and leave in a warm place for about 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size.

Tip the dough onto the work surface and knead lightly for 30 seconds. Roll out to a thickness of about 1cm. Cut out circles using a 5-6cm round cutter. Transfer the doughnuts to a parchment covered baking sheet making sure there is plenty of space between each. Cover loosely with oiled cling-film and leave in a warm place for 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C and bake the doughnuts for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Roll each doughnut in the melted butter then toss in the sugar. They taste superb without the jam filling. However, complete the next step if you so wish. I added jam to half the batch.

Cool doughnuts for 15 minutes. Spoon the jam into a piping bag or syringe. Use a skewer or chopstick to make a hole in the side of each doughnut, push the piping bag into the hole and fill with jam.

Save me. He's a monster.

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