Sometimes in life there are moments when a sweet little ring of dough, puffed to light and airy perfection and drizzled with a glaze, or dusted with a simple cinnamon sugar, is just what you need. This is by no means an everyday recipe but one that is made lighter by baking instead of frying.

A classic yeast dough with a hint of vanilla is cut into perfect rounds and baked in the oven until puffed and golden. Dipped in a salted chocolate glaze, which is given heat and nuttiness from fresh ginger and tahini, and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. My Salted Chocolate, Ginger and Sesame Doughnuts are perfect dunked in a hot cup of coffee.

7gm (1 sachet) dried yeast

125 ml milk

½ cup caster sugar

1 free range organic egg

45g organic unsalted butter

2¼ cups plain flour

½ tsp vanilla extract

Sea salt

Extra milk, for brushing

For the glaze:

150g dark bittersweet chocolate

½ tbsp ginger, grated

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp organic unsalted butter

1 tbsp tahini

Sea salt

Sesame seeds, for sprinkling

In a small bowl, combine the yeast with about 30ml of warm water. Stir and set aside for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to foam.

In a saucepan over medium heat, or in the microwave, heat milk until lukewarm. Remove from heat and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (with a dough hook attachment if you have one), combine the sugar, egg, butter, a generous pinch of sea salt, the yeast mixture, vanilla, milk, and half the flour. Knead on a low speed to combine, add remaining flour and knead for about 4-5 minutes, until a sticky dough forms. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, form into a ball and pop into a clean oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in warm place for at least an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1cm thick. Using a cookie cutter (I used one with a 8cm diameter) cut out rounds, then cut out the centres with a smaller cutter. Place the rounds on a baking tray lined with baking paper, making sure that they have enough space between each other as they do expand in the oven.

Brush doughnuts with a little milk and place the trays in the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes, until cooked and slightly golden.

Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl above a pan of simmering water, combine the chocolate, ginger, butter, milk, pinch of salt and tahini. Stir gently until completely melted. Remove from heat.

When the doughnuts are lovely and puffed and cool enough to handle, dip them into the chocolate glaze. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Let rest for a few minutes before serving to allow the glaze to firm up a little.

Makes about 10 doughnuts