Sweet Tooth Friday: Delectable Donuts
TGIF! The almighty weekend is coming and its time to make something sweet. Why? Because I said so.
This week, I decided to make some baked donuts. I know, it kind of sounds like an oxymoron because the main reason donuts taste so good is that crispy outside coupled with a fluffy inside achieved by a quick bath in a deep fryer. However, I wanted to see if the baked variety could stand up to its deep fried brother. I went out and grabbed a donut pan (a mere $9.99 investment) and got to work. I will admit the first batch was kind of spongy and didn’t taste anything like a donut. However, I was not to be deterred! I spent $9.99 on this pan! So, I decided to give it another go though because I also liked the idea of being able to bake a batch of donuts without the calories and mess of deep frying. And less face it, Dunkin Donuts just isn’t what it used to be.
So, I changed up a few ingredients and also altered my expectations. Instead of trying to achieve fried donut perfection, I figured, why not just make a really good, baked mini cake (that happens to have a hole in the middle) with chocolate frosting? And, that is exactly what I did. (Insert pat on back.)
This is also a great recipe to get the kids involved in. They can help mix the batter and pipe into the pan and, while the donuts bake, put a whole bunch of toppings out and let them have at it! Just don’t forget the sprinkles…because everything tastes better with sprinkles!
Baked Donuts
Makes
Serves
Prep time: Total time:
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
dash of cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
1 ¼ cup buttermilk or milk with a teaspoon of vinegar, PRESTO, you got yourself some buttermilk)
2 tablespoons melted butter
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease up the donut pan with some butter.
- Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add all the wet ingredients. Mix until incorporated.
- Pipe into greased donut pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, rotating pan half way through.
- Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes in pan before removing.
- Add toppings and enjoy!
Suggested Toppings:
Chocolate Frosting
½ cup chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup (optional but creates that bakery shine)
- Melt chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in bowl over a water bath. Place each donut in to cover top. Allow to air dry before wolfing them down!
Cinnamon Sugar
½ stick butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Combine sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowl.
- Melt butter in a shallow bowl. Quickly place donut top in.
- Then place in sugar mixture and allow to air dry.
