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.