Made By Mail: Vanilla Tamarind Doughnuts with Ancho Chile Glaze
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Our #dxdpinkmeup campaign wraps up today (rose color content wise, obviously not in our hearts-wise) with a special edition of Made by Mail and a return visit from our very own Master of the Memes - Billy Green.
Just because we gave Mr. Green a run for his money on his last culinary challenge, we by no means let him off the hook for round two. That being said, we sent him tangy, tart (somewhat unruly) tamarind pods which take a little bit of extra elbow grease to even prepare let alone posses a bright flavor profile that makes it difficult to integrate into just any ol' recipe.
Sorry, buddy...let's just think of this as getting you ready for your Los Angeles debut with a little tough love.
Lesson learned on this mission? Tamarind pods are definitely on the top list of the most un-photogenic food items...Yup, totally a Monet.
But! Billy did discover the way to harness it's cultural vibrance from other delicious traditional delicacies while pushing a unique tart, sweet and spicy flavor within everyone's favorite circular treat...the donut.
We know - every doughnut is delicious. But we think this one is pretty darn original.
So....Billy, We'll take a full (fresh) dozen when you finally get down here to LA next week - thank you!
~Kristin
After the fight I had with elderflower last round of made by mail I was ready for a second challenge and was stoked when I got the mystery ingredient for this round: tamarind.
Now, my experience with this has been limited to Jarritos and Agua Fresca so I wanted to shift gears with some edibles. The only way I can describe the taste is like an earthy lemon. It’s tart, umami-ish, and the secret ingredient in a lot of curries. I decided to go the sweet route with my assignment.
This dessert is a riff on the classic tamarind ancho chile paleta just in doughnut form so it’s more appropriate for breakfast. There’s a nice tang from the tamarind and then a light burn from the ancho chile powder in the icing. The only trick is that you don’t use just any old chili powder because then you introduce your doughnuts to garlic and I don’t want garlic in my doughnuts.
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Vanilla Tamarind Doughnuts with Ancho Chile Glaze Makes 10-12 Doughnuts ¼ cup vegetable oil 2 eggs ¾ cup white granulated sugar ½ cup tamarind pulp (prepared from a block of tamarind, following these instructions) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¾ teaspoon baking powder 1 cup all purpose flour 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted 3 Tablespoons butter, melted ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder 2-3 Tablespoons milk
- Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a doughnut pan. (if you don’t have a doughnut pan then you can grease a mini muffin pan and decrease cooking time by a couple minutes)
- In a large bowl mix together the oil, eggs, sugar, tamarind pulp, and vanilla.
- Sift in the baking powder and flour, and fill doughnut pan cavities ¾ full. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
- Once the doughnuts are done let sit in pan for 10 minutes and remove from pan onto a cooling rack. Make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, butter, ancho chile powder, and milk until smooth.
- Once the doughnuts are almost completely cooled, dip the tops of the doughnuts on the glaze and place the doughnuts back on the cooling rack for the glaze to set slightly.
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We've always loved the sweet and tangy notes that only tamarind can bring to the party and we're looking for even more ways to incorporate this ingredient into our rotation. What's your favorite way to use this pulpy fruit?! Tell us below.