Gotham Bar and Grill's Ube Doughnuts with Cashew Ice Cream & Ube Anglaise

By Pastry Chef Deborah Racicot
(Makes about 30 1.5 inch doughnuts)

For the ube doughnuts *See note
Ingredients:
*62.5 g powdered ube (this can be found in Southeast Asian markets)
*125 g coconut milk
*12.5 g dry yeast
*62.5 g butter
*62.5 g sugar
*3.75 g salt
*43 g eggs
*150 g all purpose flour
*2 tbsp vanilla extract

Preparation:
1) Place the butter, sugar and salt in a large bowl of a standing mixer and cream with a paddle attachment until smooth.
2) Add the eggs all at once, and mix until smooth.
3) Meanwhile, heat the coconut milk in a microwave until it is warm to the touch, and use it to dissolve the yeast.
4) Add the milk and yeast mixture along with a third of the flour and mix until it’s smooth.
5) Change the paddle attachment to a hook attachment and add another third of the flour mixed with the ube powder.
6) Once combined, add the rest of the ube/flour mixture and mix until combined. At this stage add the vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
7) If making the same day, let the dough sit out at room temperature in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a towel. Let it double in size.
8) Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until it is 1/2 inch thick. Cut with round cookie cutters (1.75 in diameter) and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment to keep your workspace clear.
9) Cut a small hole in the center of every dough round (using a .75 inch round cookie cutter).
10) Proof the doughnuts.
11) Fry at 375 F, and drain on paper towels. Drop in a mixture of sugar, vanilla powder/sugar and ube powder (about 2 cups to 1 tbsp vanilla and 1tbsp ube).

For the ube anglaise
Ingredients:
*500 mL heavy cream
*100 g sugar
*7 egg yolks
*pinch of salt
*18 g ube powder

Preparation:
1) Put everything but the eggs and half the sugar into a pot and bring to a simmer.
2) As soon as the heavy cream mixture begins to simmer (and no earlier!) add the sugar to the yolks and whisk together. 
3) Slowly temper the hot cream into the egg mixture.
4) Put everything back into the pot. Cook on low heat until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon and leaves a clear line when you run your finger over it. 
5) Strain into a bain and immediately place in an ice bath to cool down.

For the cashew ice cream
Ingredients:
*3 quarts whole milk
*1 quart heavy cream
*4 cups chopped cashews
*12 g ice cream stabilizer
*400 g sugar
*800 g egg yolks
*400 g sugar
*1.5 tsp salt

Preparation:
1) In a large bowl, whisk together the ice cream stabilizer and sugar. This will prevent the stabilizer from clumping up. 
2) Put the stabilizer/sugar into a large pot with the milk, cream and chopped cashews and bring to a simmer over low heat. 
3) As soon as the milk mixture begins to simmer, but no earlier, add the sugar and salt to the eggs and whisk together. Temper the yolks with the hot milk, and pour the whole mixture back into the pot. Cook until it begins to visibly thicken, and pour into a bain set in an ice bath to cool.
4) As the ice cream base sits in the bane, take an immersion blender (available at many good cookware stores) and blend until the cashews are fine and evenly dispersed.
5) Once cool, strain the mixture into a container. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

To Assemble the Dessert:
1) Slice the bottoms of the doughnuts so that they can stand upright and evenly.
2) Using a squirt bottle or a spoon, put the ube anglaise on a plate in three even spoonfuls.
3) Place each doughnut on the dollops of glaze.
4) Scoop or make a quenelle of the cashew ice cream to serve alongside.

*If you want to make the dough ahead of time, refrigerate the dough overnight. The next day, knead and rolled out according to the above directions. Freeze the doughnuts rounds until ready to use, and do not cut holes in them until the day of. Fry and proceed as above. 

12 East 12th St. (btwn. University Pl. & 5th Ave.)
(212) 620-4020