RICOTTA DOUGHNUTS WITH LILAC & LEMON

This recipe can be created with all sorts of floral sugars. If you make the sugar in advance, these can be whipped up quickly – and are best eaten immediately. Make this even more special by adding lemon curd for dipping. oval-shaped dollops of the batter into the hot oil. Fry in batches of eight for about 3 minutes, turning frequently with a slotted spoon, until golden and crispy.

4 Remove with the slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and roll to coat in the remaining lilac sugar while still warm. Serve immediately.

Makes about 20 100G PLAIN FLOUR

1 TSP BAKING POWDER 5 TBSP LILAC SUGAR 250G DRAINED FULL-FAT

RICOTTA CHEESE

2 LARGE EGGS

ZEST OF 1 SMALL LEMON SUNFLOWER OIL, FOR FRYING

1 Stir together the flour, baking powder, 2 tbsp of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl until any clumps are broken up and all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

2 In a separate large bowl, beat the ricotta, eggs and lemon zest with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the dry ingredients and fold together until you have a smooth, thick batter.

3 Pour oil to a depth of at least 6cm into a wide, deep pan or deep-fryer and heat to 180°C. Use two teaspoons to carefully drop

LILAC SUGAR

300G GRANULATED SUGAR 50G FRESHLY PICKED LILAC PETALS, GREEN STALKS

REMOVED (OR OTHER SCENTED FLOWERS LIKE ELDERFLOWERS, ROSES, VIOLETS OR LAVENDER)

1 Put a 1cm layer of sugar in the bottom of a 500g mason jar, then a layer of lilac flowers. Repeat until you have filled the jar, finishing with a layer of sugar. Shake the jar daily for a week to stop clumping. 2 After a week, sift the sugar through a sieve to remove the lilac. 3 Preheat the oven to 50ºc (30°C fan oven). Spread the sugar on a baking sheet lined with parchment and cook for 15 minutes. Leave to cool, then put the sugar in a food processor and whizz for a few seconds until it is the consistency of caster sugar.