Heart Shaped Rose Petal French Crullers and a Giveaway

by Lora Wiley-Lennartz

When I made scrumptious Vanilla Bean Doughnuts with Root Beer Glaze awhile back, I had definitely cleared a hurdle. So proud to have actually made doughnuts, the fact they tasted amazing was a super bonus.

Admittedly it took a few tries to get my doughnut confidence on. If I had had Dede Wilson’s  wonderful, comprehensive A Baker’s Field Guide to Doughnuts by my side, things would probably have gone much smoother in the kitchen.

The book is perfect for a recipe fiddler like me. After detailed explanations of proper ingredients and equipment, Dede provides lots of tips and tricks to making your own doughnut magic. The first section of the book, “Master Recipes”, includes several basic doughnut, glaze, frosting and filling recipes that can be customized to your liking. Then she kicks it up a notch in the “Field Guide” section with recipes like Nutella Doughnuts with Gianduja Ganache and Honey Cream–Filled Doughnuts with Milk and Honey Glaze providing further inspiration.

In making her Rose Petal French Cruller recipe, I found the instructions to be perfect and I loved how these came out.  This is a quick recipe and it comes together quite easily. The only variation I made was to add some pink food coloring to the icing and I formed them into heart shapes instead of the recommended circles. I wasn’t sure the shape would work but her excellent tip of coating individual pieces of parchment paper with non stick spray and then inverting them into the hot oil worked perfectly.

The crullers were perfectly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with a lovely rose flavor. Even though I have a few doughnut creations under my belt since those root beer glazed beauties, I’ve never made crullers. Now I have a great recipe to use with endless variations.

Here’s the giveaway: The good folks at Harvard Common Press have allowed me to give away a copy of Dede’s book. Just leave a comment on this post by Friday September 7th 11pm Est and you are entered to win. The winner will be randomly selected.

Incidentally, there will be a double dose of Dede. Stay tuned because next week I will be doing another giveaway for her other book Cake Balls.

Rose Petal French Crullers
(Recipe ©2012 by Dede Wilson and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press)
 
My Additions in pink
Description: Light, airy, crisp French crullers are brushed with a rose water glaze and sprinkled with edible rose petals.
Lifespan: These are best eaten as soon as possible.
Yield: about nine 3-inch crullers
Ingredients/Rose water glaze:

 

  • 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons rose water
  • A few drops of pink food coloring
  • 1 recipe French Crullers, fried and beginning to cool
  • Fresh pesticide-free rose petals (I used Crushed dried rose petals)

Directions:

Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and rose water in a small bowl until smooth. Immediately apply the glaze all over the tops of the crullers with a pastry brush or dip the tops in the glaze. sprinkle with rose petals while the glaze is still wet. Let sit for 5 minutes to allow the glaze to set.


French Crullers

A classic French choux paste (think: cream puffs) is piped into doughnut-ring shapes and then deep-fried, yielding the lightest and most elegant of doughnuts—tender yet crisp outside, light and airy inside. These are best enjoyed as soon as possible.
Yield: about nine 3-inch crullers
Ingredients:

 

  • 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
  • 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • Flavorless vegetable oil for deep-frying, such as canola
  • Pastry bag fitted with a large star decorating tip (such as Ateco #847)
Directions:

 

  • 1. Cut nine 5-inch squares of parchment paper, arrange them on two rimmed baking sheet pans, and coat them thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray. Line another rimmed baking sheet pan with a triple layer of paper towels.
  • 2. Combine the water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a rolling boil; remove from the heat.
  • 3. Quickly stir in the flour all at once until the batter comes together. Place over very low heat and stir until the dough dries out, 1 minute or less. The mixture should come away cleanly from the sides of the saucepan. Scrape the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
  • 4. Turn the mixer on medium and add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to be absorbed before continuing. The batter should be smooth and firm enough to hold a shape when mounded with a spoon.
  • 5. Scrape the dough into the pastry bag. Pipe a 3-inch ring onto each parchment square. I piped hearts.  It is fine if the ends of the ring overlap a bit. If the end sticks to the pastry tip, use kitchen scissors to snip it free.
  • 6. Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep pot or deep-fat fryer to 350° to 355°F. When the oil is hot enough, pick up one parchment square at a time and carefully but swiftly invert it so that the cruller slides into the oil (take care not to let your fingers touch the hot oil). Fry a few at a time; do not crowd. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes, flip them over, and fry for about 2 minutes more, until golden brown on the other side as well. Using a slotted spoon, remove each cruller from the oil and drain thoroughly on paper towels. repeat with the remaining crullers.
  • 7. Apply dry toppings or glaze as desired.

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17 comments

Sandie September 7, 2012 - 5:34 pm

This looks like a great book to add to my kitchen library! Just upgraded to a larger stand mixer, and would love to win so I could "put it to the test"! Can I use the dried rose petals from the flowers i can purchase at the florist or is there an issue with pesticides from the growers? Thanks for the giveaway, and I just found your blog but will definitely be back on a regular basis!

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wendy@chezchloe September 5, 2012 - 3:22 am

Looks like a great book!

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sugarswings September 4, 2012 - 5:16 pm

so pretty! love the colors 🙂

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Diane September 4, 2012 - 9:05 pm

WOW…..These French Crullers are so pretty!
I can imagine they tasted as good as they look!

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Manda September 4, 2012 - 11:47 am

That is really cool. Love donuts but this is very interesting way of making them!

shankyouverymuch11 at yahoo dot com

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Cathleen September 1, 2012 - 10:29 pm

Wow. These are gorgeous, I love the shape! I haven't made doughnuts in FOREVER! Thanks for the reminder!

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Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce August 31, 2012 - 4:54 pm

These are absolutely stunning Lora! I've been thinking about making flowery doughnuts recently but never thought to decorate them with petals, so pretty!

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Debby August 30, 2012 - 1:58 pm

These are beautiful! Doughnuts have always been on my "to do" list. Would love to give them a try.

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sami August 30, 2012 - 3:16 pm

Oh my, I don't do a lot of sweets, but I die for French Crullers; even as a little kid. I want this book SO much!
Thanks for the opportunity.

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keshakeke August 29, 2012 - 9:01 pm

Wow! These French Crullers are so pretty! I can't wait for the cake balls!
keshakeke@aol.com

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Lauren August 29, 2012 - 4:59 pm

These are really really pretty. Man oh man I love donuts so much. We're lucky to have a really fantastic local donut place but they only have cake donuts, nothing fried. So—I still need to try frying my own. I love that you made the crullers into a heart shape. It's perfect.

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FoxandCherry August 29, 2012 - 5:05 pm

Mhh, i get hungry just by looking at those! To use rose petals is very exotic, but it is definetly an eye catcher 🙂

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Dede Wilson August 29, 2012 - 5:05 pm

Thank you for the review! I havent made them with dried roses and wonder how the texture is? Do they soften when affixed to the glaze? Certainly are GORGEOUS and love the heart shape. Should be scratch n' sniff!

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Lora August 29, 2012 - 8:08 pm

You're welcome! I love the book. The dried roses add a bit of crunch as they don't soften completely. There's no interference with the eating experience, except to bump up the rose flavor a bit.

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ken August 29, 2012 - 5:02 pm

Dede has a doughnut book? I only knew about the forthcoming cake balls book. These look amazing. I need a doughnut–now!

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Ruby August 29, 2012 - 1:10 pm

Oh my are these gorgeous, and I'm such a sucker for all cooking that uses roses. I'm channelling Edith Piaf here, singing La Vie en Rose (okay, I admit it doesn't really take much to get me singing Piaf). 'Looking at the world through rose petal crullers' – could be my new motto!

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Anonymous August 29, 2012 - 11:06 pm

These look really amazing! Donuts have always seemed out of my kitchen capabilities… thanks for sharing this info. Love the idea of having rose petals to add crunch!!

Reply

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