Friday 15 November 2013

Don't mock - Will my doughnuts turn out like Fannys?

Whether or not the urban myth is true or a well crafted piece of publicity, it's hard to mention Fanny Cradock without thinking about doughnuts and without sniggering at the famous line. Did the announcer on Nationwide really turn to camera after Fanny had finished her cookery slot and say 'May all your doughnuts turn out like Fannys' (or whatever derivation of the line you've heard)? I don't think any record of it exists, but the fame lingers. So, when I see that next up in my Cradock Cookery Programme is doughnuts I can't help but squeal. Well, they are sort of doughnuts of course, Fanny calls them Mock Doughnuts, Deceitful Doughnuts and also Spanish Torrijas. 


These doughnuts, Fanny suggests, are ideal for when you have nothing in the house for pudding and hungry folk to feed. Well, nothing expect bread, eggs, icing sugar, cinnamon and Sherry that is. Fanny boasts that she has blindfolded people on stage at the Albert Hall and fed them these little beauties, and they have insisted that they are having fresh, hot, spiced doughnuts. Naughty Fanny, one won't enquire why she had a blindfold to hand. 


So, first of all I need to mix some icing sugar with cinnamon, while I heat up some plain and ordinary oil to the required temperature. I am a little nervous about hot oil, so use a thermometer to make sure I don't overheat it. Then I cut circles out of thick slices of bread and toss them through eggs beaten with Sherry. Mmm, it really smells so good already! 


When the oil reached temperature Fanny suggests more tossing - this time the soaked bread into the oil, frying until they are puffed and golden brown. It only takes a few minutes on each side and I'm glad I made sure the temperature was right so they didn't burn.


Finally, when they are ready and still hot, simply dust them in the sugar and cinnamon mix and eat immediately. I really wasn't expecting them to taste like anything other than fried bread, but of course I should have more faith in Fanny by now - if I was blindfolded I'd swear they were fresh doughnuts, with an added and very welcome hit of Sherry! So the question is, did my doughnuts turn out like Fannys? I think so! These are Fannys...


And these are mine... Feel free to snigger.

14 comments:

  1. Brilliant! Definitely no sniggering!

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  2. I've always wondered if that famous line is true! These are unusual, would love to try the blindfold test :)

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    1. No idea if it is true or not, but grab your blindfold anyway and give it a try! They are good actually, and the Sherry gives them a real retro feel!

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  3. Oddly enough, a) I'm in Edinburgh as well, and b) I was researching the quote myself today. Opinions vary: take your pick!
    1) The line was said by Frank Bough following a live cooking demo. on Nationwide; OR
    2) The line was said by Johnnie Cradock at the end of a TV show; OR
    3) The line was the punchline of a Benny Hill parody where Benny played Fanny (no jokes please!), and Bob Todd played Johnnie.
    I do remember hearing the line on live TV myself, and my admittedly vague recollection is that it was indeed Frank (sniff sniff) Bough; and that Benny Hill 'pinched' the line for his later spoof.

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    1. The nationwide story is the most common but... A great line regardless! Thanks...

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  4. UPDATE!
    Another site (http://www.cooksinfo.com/fanny-cradock) repeats another claim that it was none other than Scotland's very own Bill Tennant (anyone else remember him?) who was responsible:
    "In the early 1970s, Fanny hosted the "Home And Garden" slot that was part of a talk show on Scottish Television hosted by […] Bill Tennant. The show always ended with her handing out food, and a recipe, to the audience. In one show, she demonstrated how to make doughnuts. That night, as Bill closed the show, he said goodbye to his viewers, and said, "The recipe will be on the screen in a moment ...and I hope all your doughnuts turn out like Fanny's". Apparently the audience sat there in shocked silence while Bill slowly realized what he'd said."

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    1. Thanks, I like to believe it was the Scottish story, and I'm pretty sure Johnnie then used it on stage - thanks so much!

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    2. Maybe I was told correctly after all.

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  5. I was told it was Bill Tennant. An STV employee.
    Reading the above I'm sure whoever told me was way off the mark.

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    1. Unless a clip turns up unexpectedly after all these years, we may never know for sure!

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  6. Marvellous quote - love the addition of the sherry!

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