Gooey and delicious, you will love these little delicacies from the Westin La Cantera. Doughnuts made from butternut squash may sound strange, but the sweetness of the squash makes for a very unique taste. Topped with sweet caramel and crunchy Texas pecans…you have to give them a try.
Doughnut Preparation
1. Whisk 2/3c flour cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
2. Add butternut squash
3. Pour the water into a small bowl sprinkle in the yeast and blend till creamy
4. In a mixer fitted with a paddle beat the butter and the sugar until creamy, about 5 min
5. Set the mixer at low speed add the yeast then add the dry ingredients about 1/4 c at a time
6. As soon as the mix starts to come together scrape the paddle and switch to a dough hook
7. Mix the dough 10- 15 minutes
8. Remove from bowl and let rest in a covered bowl about 2 hrs
9. When doubled remove from bowl and dived into desired shape
10. Let rest 30 min then fry & dust with sugar & canella
Caramel Sauce Preparation
1. First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go – the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don’t work fast, the sugar will burn.
2. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize. Add the butter and heavy cream (be very careful at this point – add ingredients slowly because it can be dangerous). Once caramelized, add pecans.
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 2 Tbs warm water
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 8oz(1 cup) pureed cooked butternut squash
Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup of sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup toasted pecans