“Can I have a doughnut with my sprinkles, please?” To anyone who drools over doughnuts in bakery cases, there is no denying that sprinkles put the happy in these circular wonders. This past Christmas I received a doughnut pan as a gift. The friend who gave it to me explained how easy it is to make doughnuts with the special pan, how cake doughnuts don’t require deep-frying, and how incredibly nice it is to bake fresh doughnuts for breakfast. She was right on all counts.
Baked Cake Doughnuts With Chocolate Glaze
Doughnut recipe from Epicurious
Chocolate Glaze recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction
INGREDIENTS
Doughnuts
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (120 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30 grams) whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup (75 grams) superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
1/4 cup whole milk, scalded
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup (90g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons water
Decorations
Assortment of sprinkles
DIRECTIONS
For the Doughnuts:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a doughnut pan.
2. Sift the flours and baking powder together into a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer.
2. Whisk in the sugar, nutmeg, and salt.
3. Add the butter and use your fingers to rub it into the dry ingredients as you would in making a pastry crust, until evenly distributed.
4. Add the milk, yogurt, vanilla, and egg and stir until just combined. Do not overmix or your doughnuts may be rubbery.
5. Use a piping bag or a spoon to fill each doughnut cup about three-quarters full, making sure the center post is clear. Bake until doughnuts are a light golden brown and spring back when touched, 6 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from pan.
6. Glaze as desired.
YIELD: Makes 6 to 12 doughnuts
For the Chocolate Glaze:
1. Put the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and water into a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Place bowl in the microwave oven and cook on high for 20 seconds. Stir the chocolate mixture and microwave for another 20 seconds, if needed. Stir again and microwave in 5 second increments (if necessary), until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
3. Dip the tops of the doughnuts into the chocolate glaze.
4. Holding a doughnut over a bowl, shake sprinkles over the melted chocolate mixture.
LINNELL’S NOTES
1. I used a vegetable oil spray to grease the doughnut pan.
2. Freshly grated nutmeg really adds flavor, but if you don’t have whole nutmeg, use ground nutmeg.
3. I used a pastry cutter in step 3.
4. Step 4 requires milk to be scalded. If you need a refresher course on scalding milk, click on the link to view a brief video lesson on scalding milk. The milk needs time to cool down, so scald the milk after you sift the flours and baking soda together.
5. Instead of using a piping bag to fill the doughnut pan, I put the batter into a plastic zip-type bag. After sealing the bag, I cut off a bottom corner and squeezed the batter into the doughnut molds.
6. I found it easier to shake the sprinkles onto the doughnut, rather than dipping the chocolate side of the doughnut into a bowl of sprinkles. When doing the latter, chocolate gets all over the sprinkles in the bowl, lessening chances of reusing any leftovers.
7. This recipe made exactly 6 doughnuts for my size doughnut pan.
Enjoy!
