ENVELOPE ACTIVE DRY YEAST RECIPES

Steps:

• For filling, in a small heavy saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter until melted. Immediately transfer to a clean bowl; stir in vanilla. Cool 30 minutes. Press plastic wrap onto surface of filling; refrigerate until cold., Whisk custard gently. Fold in half the whipped cream. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate., While custard is chilling, make dough. In a large bowl, mix sugar, yeast, salt and 1 cup flour. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat on medium speed 1 minute. Add eggs; beat on high 1 minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn dough onto a well floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , While dough is rising, make almond topping. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, honey and sugar. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in almonds. Cool slightly and set aside. , Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 9-in. circle. Transfer to greased 9-in. springform baking pan, pressing to evenly fill pan with dough. Spoon almond mixture over dough and gently spread to cover entire surface. Cover pan with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled, 25-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake until topping is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen sides from pan with a knife. Cool 1 hour longer. , Remove cake from base of springform pan. Using a long serrated knife, cut cake horizontally in half; spread filling over cake. Replace top of cake. Serve immediately. Chill leftovers.

Steps:

• Get ready: Pour the oil into a large saucepan (5 to 6 quart capacity). Prepare a baking sheet fitted with kitchen towels and a slotted spoon to remove and place the doughnuts as they emerge from the hot oil.
• Mix the dry ingredients: in a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. With your hand, make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the yeast in the center.
• Make the dough: Place the sour cream in a heatproof bowl and warm gently over a pot of simmering water, like a makeshift double boiler, 2-3 minutes. When warmed, remove the bowl from the heat. Pour the sour cream directly over the yeast and allow the sour cream and yeast to sit 2-3 minutes. Gently mix with a rubber spatula then add your eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Gently stir until combined.
• Cut the doughnuts: Sift a generous layer of flour onto 2 baking sheets. Flour a clean flat surface and turn the dough out. It will be sticky. Sift more flour on top of the dough, flour your hands and pat the dough until about 3/4 inch thick. Dip the cutter in flour so it won't stick. Cut a round and gently transfer to the floured baking sheets. Flour the cutter between each doughnut. Cut the rounds close together to avoid making too many scraps. Gather the scraps and roll into a ball.
• Finish: Dip the smaller cutter in flour and cut a round out of the center of each doughnut to make the "hole". Save the small dough holes. Let the doughnuts rest 8-10 minutes.
• Heat the oil: In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the canola oil over medium low heat. Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature until the oil reaches 350F.
• Fry and eat: Use a slotted spoon to submerge 5 doughnuts in a single layer in the hot oil. Fry until the bottoms are browned, 3-4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to carefully turn each doughnut on their second side and fry an additional 3-4 minutes until browned. Remove and drain on the sheet fitted with kitchen towels. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts. Take care to allow the oil to reheat between batches. Flatten and cut the scraps for a few additional doughnuts. Fry the doughnuts holes as well. Cool for at least 15 minutes then toss in the powdered sugar.