Baked Doughnuts – Three Ways

It’s been a while since I made doughnuts, 2.5 years in fact. When Max sampled one of these he asked me “are doughnuts healthy, Mommy?” I told him no, he looked sad and said “aww, why not?” I wish they were too Sonny! He knows if they’re not healthy that means they will be very few and far between. But they’re definitely worth the wait.

If you’ve been around here long enough you know that I loathe deep frying. Pretty much everything about it. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some delicious homemade doughnuts once in a (too long) while!

These doughnuts are soft and tender and taste just like a doughnut should. Obviously it won’t have a deep fried taste, but they are so delicious my family did not miss that fact one bit!

I decided to make a sampler so everyone could choose their favourite topping. Each glaze recipe makes a small amount. If you’ll be serving them all straight away you can make all three kinds at once. But, if you won’t be eating them within the first couple of hours, you can pop the unglazed doughnuts in the freezer. Then you can just take out as many as you want, pick which topping you fancy at the moment, make it and dip away.

I think these would make a fantastic Easter treat. Dress them up with a couple berries to make them just a little more classy and they’ll be fit for any Easter spread.

Oh yeah, I forgot the best part. You don’t need a doughnut mould to make these. Just a rolling pin and round cutters. I’ve even used the top of jars or cups to make my doughnut shapes in a pinch.

Baked Doughnuts – Three Ways

Makes: approximately 14 doughnuts + doughnut holes

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup whole milk, warm (115ºF)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2.5-3.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

Instructions

1. Place egg and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Add milk, yeast, and vanilla. Allow yeast to proof a bit, then turn mixer to low and stir until incorperated. Add salt and 2 cups flour (1/2 cup at a time), beat until dough is thick and smooth. Add the butter, once piece at a time, beating until no large chunks of butter are visible. Switch to a dough hook and beat in just enough additional flour until the dough starts to clean the side of the boil and is tacky but not overly sticky. Allow to beat for another couple minutes until the dough is smooth. Place the dough in a large greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). (I like to turn on my oven for one minute and then shut it off. I put the dough in the oven with the oven light on and shut the door. This keeps it nice and warm and helps it rise faster.)
2. Punch down the dough and roll it out about 1/2 inch thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter, cut out 3 inch diameter rounds with 1 inch diameter holes. Transfer the doughnuts to a parchment lined baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Gather remaining dough scraps into a ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. Reroll the dough and cut out more doughnuts, placing them on a prepared baking sheet. Any dough that’s left can be made into doughnut holes. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until nearly doubled in size (20-30 minutes).
3. Bake at 400ºF for 5-8 minutes, until the doughnuts are a light golden brown, taking care not to overbake them. Glaze while warm or let cool and freeze.

Chocolate Glaze

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 20 grams dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar

Place butter, vanilla, corn syrup and milk in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir until melted. Turn heat to low and add chocolate, stir until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in icing sugar until smooth. Dip tops of doughnuts into chocolate glaze. Place chocolate side up to set.

Creamy Vanilla Glaze

This glaze stays creamy after glazing and will not set hard. This is my hubby’s all-time favourite topping.

• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar

Place milk, granulated sugar, butter and vanilla in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and whisk in icing sugar until smooth. Dip doughnuts into glaze, covering all sides.

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pour butter into a small plate. Mix together sugar and cinnamon in another small plate. Coat doughnuts in butter then in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Doughnut recipe adapted from Honey & Jam, originally from Doughnuts. Chocolate Glaze adapted from How Sweet It Is, originally from Alton Brown.