Gingerbread Man Doughnuts

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

• 1 + 1/3 of warm dairy-free milk (this recipe used unsweetened almond)
• 2 packs (0.5 ounces) of dry yeast powder
• 1/3 cup of golden caster sugar
• 43/4 cups of self-raising flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of melted dairy-free butter
• 2 egg replacers

For the custard:

• 3/4 cup of warm dairy-free milk (this recipe used unsweetened almond)
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 + 1/2 tablespoon of golden caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of gram flour
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

For the cream filling:

• 1 tablespoon of dairy-free milk (this recipe used unsweetened almond milk)
• 2 tablespoons of dairy-free butter
• 1 + 1/4 cup of icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• Vegan custard (Ingredients above)
• Golden caster sugar (for coating)
• Oil (for frying)

1. For the doughnuts: Place the warm dairy-free milk into a bowl and sprinkle over the yeast and sugar, stir, cover with a tea towel then put into a warm place for around 10-15 minutes until frothy.
2.  
   In a separate bowl, combine the flour & salt and stir. In another separate bowl, add in the melted dairy-free butter and vegan egg substitute.
3. Combine the dry mixture, yeast mixture and egg mixture into a bowl and stir. Mix with a hand whisk or attach a dough hook to your stand mixer and begin to knead on medium until nice and smooth. If it's too liquidy, add in some more flour.
4. Pop the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and place into a warm area and allow to prove for around 2-3 hours or until doubled in size.
5. Once doubled, turn the dough out onto a clean, floured surface and roll out until around 1/2-inch thick. Using a gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out gingerbread men and place onto a lined baking tray. Place the cutout doughnuts back into a warm area covered with a tea towel for around 1 hour until they have doubled in size.
6.  
   Add oil into a deep pan until half - 3/4 full and bring to the boil. Allow it to come up to 320°F. Once the doughnuts have risen, gently lower them into the hot oil and fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until puffed and golden brown in color.  Carefully take them out of the hot oil and place them on kitchen paper towel to drain any excess oil.
7.  While they are still warm, coat them in golden caster sugar. Allow them to cool before filling.
8. For the custard: Heat the almond milk in a saucepan until warm then remove from the heat. Add in the water, sugar, cornstarch, gram flour, and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add more vanilla extract if needed.
9. For the cream filling: Place the almond milk and butter into a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add in the icing sugar, ground ginger and all of the custard. Mix until smooth. Add more cornstarch for a thicker filling.
10. Pop the filling into a piping bag and snip of the tip. Poke a hole in the side or middle of the doughnuts and fill each of the doughnuts.