Cheesecake doughnuts with salted caramel

1.Stir yeast and 60ml warm water in a bowl to combine, and set aside until foamy (5-7 minutes), then place in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook with milk, sugar, butter, egg, half the flour and 1 tsp fine sea salt, and knead on low speed, gradually adding remaining flour, until a sticky dough forms (4-5 minutes; dough will be quite wet). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, dust with a little extra flour, form into a ball, then transfer to a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size (1-1½ hours).

2.Roll out dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 1.5cm. Cut out rounds with a floured 8cm-diameter cutter and place 2cm apart on trays lined with baking paper. Re-roll scraps and repeat, then cover and set aside until doubled in size (45 minutes to 1 hour).

3.Meanwhile, for salted caramel, stir sugar and 60ml water in a saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and cook until caramel (4-5 minutes). Add butter, whisk to combine, then add cream (be careful, mixture will foam up) and 1 tsp sea salt or to taste and whisk to combine. Set aside.

4.For cheesecake filling, process all ingredients in a small food processor until smooth, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 5mm plain nozzle and set aside.

5.For cinnamon sugar crumb, combine all ingredients and ½ tsp salt in a bowl, then spread on a tray and set aside.

6.Heat oil in a large saucepan or deep-fryer to 180C. Deep-fry doughnuts in batches, turning once, until golden and cooked through (3-4 minutes; be careful, hot oil will spit). Transfer with a slotted spoon to cinnamon sugar crumb and toss to coat. Pierce base of each doughnut with piping tube and pipe a little cheesecake filling into each and serve warm with salted caramel, scattered with extra cinnamon crumb.