IT IS FALL IN NEW ORLEANS which means it is currently 70 degrees outside only because it is a rainy, dreary day. I don’t know what it is about Fall that makes us lose our minds and want to bake everything, but I am in the midst of a baking project I’ve looked forward to a few weeks. (I’m also listening to this “Fall Jazz Music” YouTube video while typing this post. It has a cup of coffee next to a record player.)

I (FINALLY!) started ‘the list’ last weekend and had my loyal taste testers ready (I LOVE YOU!). I wasn’t sure how I would present this project in my blog, but realized I do not have the patience to carry out the continual blog posts so will just carry it out ADD style like the rest of my life. Will there be a food post this week?? I don’t know! Baking is better without plans and having fun with it.

HOW DID THIS ALL START?!?

FALL. Looking up Fall things. The idea of Stars Hollow. Having my own Stars Hollow festival without the festival. I do not like crowds, but love the idea of the horrible-for-you foods you save room for on rare occasions. The irony of this post is I am currently on a health journey which is incorporating more and more vegan type foods and eating huge salads for dinner. It’s confusing to me as well, but maybe that’s what makes it more fun?!? I will have to share more of that in another post because writing about my “healing my acne naturally” and “this face mask is destroying my face” while writing about frying all the foods seems kind of weird to me.

Anywho, I went to the internet to look up fall baking ideas which led to festival foods and decided I NEEDED TO TRY THEM ALL. Last weekend I made regular yeast donuts, sweet potato maple donuts, candy apples, and a bread pudding using the maple donuts (incorporating both donuts and homemade caramel from candy apples. I forgot to take pictures, but am glad I had fun I guess?!?

I do not know the first thing about frying things, but was on a mission to learn and complete this project. I had a plan for trying the new things over the course of several weeks and writing blogs about the experience calling it my own fall festival. My scheduled fall festival plan took a turn because as I make these items decided instead to perfect the recipes/technique until I get it right. I don’t want to share something for the sake of sharing. So, there is no “fall festival”, but sharing recipes as they come.

I did the sweet potato donuts twice and am happy with the results and WAS SO EXCITED about how they came out. The glaze uses maple extract which I found at Walmart in the baking aisle by the other extracts, obviously. The first time I’d made them the dough was SO GOOEY that I incorporated way too much flour to help the rolling and cutting. If you decide to try this recipe you must trust the gooey dough. It WILL be messy and your hands WILL get tacky, but TRUST. The first go round my donuts came out way too thick and extra chewy due to the bad idea of the going heavy on the extra flour. Though they had great flavor I wanted to try them again and make them ‘lighter’ and knew I could do it if I just TRUSTED the dough.

I had a list of foods to get through and was only supposed to attempt fried cheesecake this weekend, but couldn’t help myself and stop there. I want to perfect the fried cheesecake before blogging about it so that will also be a topic for another day, but since I had an extra sweet potato made the maple donuts again (why waste a good pot of hot oil). While at the store for cheesecake ingredients saw bread flour on sale and also decided this weekend was the weekend for a praline and cream cheese king cake. Since I’d thought of, talked about, and planned this king cake for MONTHS decided ‘what’s one more dessert?!’.

-Fried cheesecake
-Sweet potato donuts with maple icing
-Praline and Cream Cheese king cake

The king cake came out dry and the filling needs work, so that is another thing I am excited to work on and post about for another time.

It did look pretty though.

Ok, but until then and for what is currently important: Sweet Potato and Maple Donuts!!!! They really ARE as delicious as they sound! Oh my gosh. The sweet potato and the cinnamon with the MAPLE SUGAR. Yasssssss!

Cue: Happy dance!

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Ingredients

• vegetable oil
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup cooked mashed (about 1 medium potato) sweet potato
• 2 large lightly beaten eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (I toasted mine)
• 2 2/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon maple extract (I just eyeballed it)

Directions

In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In a large bowl (or standing mixer bowl), mix eggs, sour cream and cooked sweet potato. Slowly pour flour mixture, stirring on slow speed to combine. Turn dough onto a heavily floured surface. Knead flour with hands as needed (IT WILL BE MESSY). Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness. I do not have a donut cutter so used a glass and then the top of a sprinkles can for the holes. Continue rolling as needed.

In a Dutch oven (I used a big pot), heat vegetable oil over medium heat to 360 °F. Cook doughnuts, in batches, in hot oil, 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels (I lined cooling racks with paper towels). Dip donuts in the Maple Icing and sprinkle toasted pecans on top.

Maple Icing:

In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar and 3 tablespoons milk; stir well. Add additional milk to reach desired consistency. Stir in maple extract.

Recipe from Paula Deen