Chocolate Cherry Balls - cooking recipe

Ingredients

250 g plain flour
50 g caster sugar
25 g cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
125 ml semi skimmed milk
1/2 tsp dried yeast
75 g butter or margarine
1 None egg, beaten
15 tsp cherry jam
1 litre vegetable oil for frying
150 g caster sugar for coating puffs

Preparation

In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa and salt. Heat 1/3 cup milk until lukewarm and dissolve the yeast in it. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the yeast and milk. Mix the batter until smooth, cover and leave for 15 mins to rise. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan and warm with the rest of the milk. Remove from heat and add to the dough, along with the beaten egg. Knead until smooth and pliable, then cover and leave to rise for 40 mins in a warm place until it has doubled in size.
Knead dough again, then turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out and slice into 15 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and press flat. Put 1 tsp of cherry jam in the center of each piece, pinch the edges together to enclose then reshape into balls. Transfer the balls to a greased baking sheet, cover and leave to rest for 20 mins.
In a deep saucepan heat the oil to 325\u00b0F. Slide 4-5 balls at a time into the oil with a slotted spoon and fry for 5-7 mins, gently rotating. Remove with a slotted spoon, roll in sugar and leave to cool.