Rose White Chocolate Ganache Chai Donuts

There are a lot of moments in my recipe testing process where I wish I could skip it altogether and simply connect a projector to my neurons to display the images of the finished product I see in my head. If I were to do this, I wouldn’t develop any of the necessary skills required of a baker and recipe developer. I would only be limiting the avenues in which my knowledge, experience, and creativity could explore. The trade off, however, is that I would be able to avoid the embarrassment of failure. Who and what am I baking for anyways? Writing this paragraph feels silly and overly self-indulgent as well. Despite the self-nagging throughout this process, the donuts were well worth the effort and I encourage anyone who may come across this recipe to make them. 

This recipe is, in part, to meet the obligatory Valentine’s Day recipe quota too. After all, the donuts are glazed with a rose white chocolate ganache! But more importantly, the donuts are a result of a cumulative effort to nourish and love all sides of my creativity, which requires no justification. These donuts are also a means to express my love for masala chai and my admiration for Indian chefs who have, for centuries, used spices to increase food’s palatability. Finally, this recipe is an homage to the love that is at the base of all my ideas. The love that has endured space and time, that reinforces the pursuit of honesty, courage, and vulnerability, and that is unafraid to unearth and confront the depths of change. 

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Rose White Chocolate Ganache Chai Donuts

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Donuts

Author: Shawn

Ingredients

For the donuts:

• ¾ cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 4 ½ cups AP flour spooned and leveled
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 ½ tbsp chai spice blend see note
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter room temperature, cubed
• Neutral vegetable oil for frying

For the rose white chocolate ganache:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 11 oz. white chocolate finely chopped
• ⅛ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tbsp vanilla paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ tbsp rose water
• White food coloring optional
• Rose petals, rose hips, or sprinkles for garnish

Instructions

For the donuts:

• In a saucepan over low heat, or in a bowl in the microwave, warm the milk until just lukewarm. Add the sugar and yeast. Stir and allow the yeast to activate and become foamy, about 5 minutes.
• In a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, salt, and chai spice blend. On low speed, stir together until just combined.
• Add the yeast mixture, eggs, vanilla extract, and butter. On medium speed, knead the bread for 6-8 minutes or until it forms a cohesive ball. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
• Cover the dough with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm area for 1 hour to 2 hours or until doubled in size.
• When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release the gas. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured, clean working surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until it is about ¼” thick. Cut the donuts with a 3” donut cutter or a cookie cutter of a similar size. Reroll the scraps and continue to cut the donuts until you have 12 donuts and 12 donut holes in total.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the donuts and donut holes on the prepared baking sheets. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Allow the donuts to rise for another 30-40 minutes, or until doubled in size again.
• As the donuts rest, heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F over medium heat. Place a cooling rack, with paper towels underneath, over another baking sheet.
• When the donuts are done with the second proof, add 2-3 donuts to the oil so as not to overcrowd the pot. Cook for 1 minute on each side and carefully remove with a slotted spoon. Place the fried donuts and donut holes on the cooling rack. Adjust the heat as needed.

For the rose white chocolate ganache and assembly:

• Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and bring the heavy cream to a gentle simmer, where small bubbles appear on the edges. Do not boil!
• As the cream heats up, add the chocolate to a heat proof bowl.
• When the heavy cream is ready, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
• Whisk the heavy cream and chocolate until smooth and cohesive. Add the salt, vanilla paste or extract, rose water, and white food coloring. Whisk until well combined. Let the ganache sit for 15 minutes to thicken up.
• Dip the donuts into the white chocolate ganache and top with the garnishes of your choosing.

Notes

I used a pre-made masala chai blend from my favorite spice distributor, which you can find here. You could also add 1 ½ tablespoon’s worth of the following blend to add to the donut dough: 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, 1 ½ tsp ground ginger, 1 ½ tsp ground fennel seeds, 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom, ½  tsp nutmeg (freshly grated preferred), ½ tsp ground black pepper and ¼ tsp ground clove. 

Enjoy! <3