Mini Rainbow Donuts with Unicorn Glaze

DONUT DOUGH

1. Set aside about ¼ cup of the flour and place the rest in the mixing bowl with the sugar, milk, yeast mix, eggs, vanilla, lemon extract and salt (that excess flour you set aside is in case you need it later).
2. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment or kneading hook on your mixer, until the mix comes together.
3. If you used the paddle mix, switch to the dough hook and start kneading the dough.
4. Add the softened butter (1/2 - 1 tbsp at a time) until it's all incorporated. Add some flour, if you need to get the dough off the sides of the bowl. Add the rest of the flour if needed, to form a soft dough ball.
5. Knead the dough for about 5 - 7 minutes until you have a soft, shiny, slightly tacky dough.
6. Divide the dough into 6 portions. Color each portion with each of the food coloring (yellow, pink, orange, green, blue and purple). You can knead the color into the dough by hand OR use the mixer and knead the dough for 2 - 3 minute until the color mixes in.
7. Flatten each piece of colored dough into a disc shape. Brush each disc lightly with water and layer them on top of each other. I layered them in this order - orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink.
8. Place the layered dough discs on a lightly oiled cake tray (or a dish with a wide, flat bottom and sides). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, up to 24 hours (I skipped the room temperature rise for this recipe).
9. Next morning, turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll it out to a 1/4 inch thickness, making sure that all the layers are still in order.
10. Keep the donut dough covered as you cut and shape the donuts. Cut 1 - 1.5 cm inch strips from the dough, and then cut each strip into pieces that are 4 inches in length. Gently roll the strip to form a smooth, round cylinder. Dab each end of the strip with a little water and bring them together to form a donut ring. You can choose to either twist the strip to create a swirled pattern or not.
11. Pinch the edges of the strip together to make sure the ends stick together and the donut ring shape remains intact. 
12. Place the donuts on a baking tray lined with parchment paper with at least 1.5 inches between each. You may need to use TWO baking trays for all the donuts. Cover the shaped donuts with plastic wrap and leave them to rise in a warm place for 30 - 45 minutes.
13. Heat at least 3 inches of oil or shortening (the donut needs to float at least 2 inches above the bottom of the pan) in a heavy bottomed pan.
14. When the oil is heated to 375°F/190°C, carefully drop one donut. After 15 - 20 seconds the donut should have turned a light golden color, with the rainbow colors of the dough still fairly visible. Flip the donut to fry the other side for a further 15 - 20 seconds. Transfer the donut to a wire rack to cool down.

GLAZE

1. Sift the icing sugar, then add lemon extract and whisk in the milk - 1 tbsp at a time, until you get a pourable, but thick consistency.
2. Add a few drops of the white coloring to the base glaze. Divide the glaze into 7 portions. Color each portion with yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, green, and keep the last one white. Use the white coloring if needed to get pastel colors for the glaze.

To glaze the donuts

1. In a shallow bowl, drizzle each of the pastel colors and top up with a drizzle of the white glaze. Dip the tops of each mini donut in the drizzled glaze, twist and remove. You should end up with a “tie dye” style donut frosting.
2. Sprinkle rainbow sprinkles and stars on top while the glaze is still wet.
3. Eat within 24 hours.