Spice Donuts

I have been craving some donuts lately.  I was disappointed the last time I bought some, so I decided on homemade donuts.  I wanted to make a variety and  really was not interested in frying a bunch of dough.  Baked cake donuts would be easier and last longer than fried.  I split the recipes in half and made 2 dozen, with 6 in each flavor.  Out of all of them, my favorite were the spice ones.  They all were pretty good, but in my mind, the spice ones paired best with hot coffee and cold weather.

The recipe below is for 1 dozen cake donuts.  These are fairly simple to make and yield pretty tasty results.  You can glaze these or top however you want, but I feel that the cinnamon sugar coating brings out the best in texture and flavor.

Spice Donuts
adapted from 150 Best Donut Recipes

Ingredients/ Donuts
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tbs melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients/Topping
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spray 2-6 cavity donut pans with non stick spray.

In one bowl, sift together the baking powder, salt, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice.  Then mix in the sugar and set aside.

The next bowl should be filled with eggs, melted butter, milk and vanilla extract.  Whisk all the ingredients together and pour in the bowl with the dry ingredients.  Mix with a wooden spoon until  blended.  I added some more milk to mine because it was a little thick.  The consistency should be like a thick frosting, not doughy.

Cut  a small piece of the corner off of a quart size freezer bag and fill with the batter.  Use the bag as you would a pastry tip and fill all 12 of the donut cavities evenly.  They should be about 2/3 full.  Bake in oven until springy to the touch, about 10-14 minutes.  Mine were done in 10 minutes.

Remove pans and let cool for 5 minutes.  As they are cooling, mix the cinnamon and sugar together for the topping. Invert the donuts from the pans, let cool completely.  Dip each donut into the melted butter and roll in sugar.  You can just do the tops or the whole donut as I did.
                        **LAST YEAR:High Octane Mini Pies*     

Kentucky Corkscrews

Well I am happy to say I did finally get my donut pan.  However, instead of getting one pan, I found a duo pack that had a pan for twist type donuts also.  Of course since I have been seeing recipes for the round ones, I thought I would be daring and try the twist type ones.

I did a lot of experimenting with the batter as well as the filling. Some of the donuts were too airy and some of the creams did not set up properly, so I can say the trash was well fed, until I landed on the right blend.

The name is derived from the fact that the shape reminds me of corkscrews and the recipe includes two things that you can easily find in Kentucky-sweet potatoes and bourbon!  The donut is baked and the batter is made with sweet potatoes and a touch of maple extract.  Then it is filled with a bourbon pastry cream and covered in cinnamon sugar. This recipe makes 4 twists.

Kentucky Corkscrews
by flourtrader

Ingredients/ Donut
1/4 cup cooked sweet potato, pureed
1/2 tsp maple extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

Ingredients/Cream Filling
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs whole milk
3 tbs sugar
1 tbs cornstarch
2 egg yolks
2 tbs bourbon

Ingredients/Topping
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

To make the donuts, spray the pan with non stick spray.  Then preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Then make a well in the center.  Set aside. In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, oil and extract and beat until there is a light foam on top.

Pour the egg batter into the dry ingredients and stir all together until no dry streaks remain.  Then fold in the sweet potato.

Then fill half of each donut cavity with the batter.  Then place in oven and bake until done, about 10-12 minutes.  Tops will spring back lightly when touched.  Remove from oven and invert donuts on a rack to cool.

To make the pastry cream, put milk in a saucepan and let come to a simmer.  Remove from heat.  Then take another bowl and whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until blended.  Take the cornstarch and sift it into the batter.  Then whisk the batter again, making sure the cornstarch is evenly distributed.

Add the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk in three increments, whisking for about 30 seconds after each addition.  Then place over medium heat, continuing to whisk constantly.  Once mixture thickens and comes to a boil, remove from heat.  Then whisk in the bourbon while the cream is still warm. Let cool for about 10 minutes before filling donuts.

For assembly, take a long knife and a cut a slit in the donut all the way through or take a core out of the donut half way down on each end.  Either way is a personal preference.  Then take a piping bag with a large pastry tip and fill with cream.  Stick tip into one end of donut and fill halfway with cream.  Then repeat on other end.  Continue this process for all of the donuts.

For the topping, mix together the cinnamon and sugar.  Then brush the top and sides of the donuts and sprinkle sugar on top and sides.  Then turn and brush the bottom with butter and do the same.  Now you are ready to enjoy some donuts!
                     **Last Year: Avocado Egg Rolls**

Harvest Spice Bites

I have been working at making donuts for awhile and I finally decided just to drop the dough in the oil instead of trying to make picture perfect donuts.  I am glad I did because these are now more of a bite size item than a big donut.

This particular recipe has some ingredients that you probably will not find in your kitchen.  The first is pureed butternut squash.  I found a bin of this in my freezer.  As we get further into the season you should be able to make your own fresh puree or purchase it canned.  Note that the puree used is a simple blend of cooled, cooked squash and a little water.  Do not use the puree that most people consider a side dish, it is a recipe that has additional ingredients such as butter. The other specialty ingredient is liquid pie spice extract.  That is a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and ginger flavors.  You can use traditional powdered spices, which are a blend of 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 allspice and 1/4 nutmeg.

These donut bites turned out much like a cake donut, fluffy on the inside with a crispy outside.  Without the sugar coating, they do have the slightly sweet taste of the squash with light undertone of the spice flavors.   These are a special treat with morning coffee or tea. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen donut bites.

Harvest Spice Bites
by flourtrader

1 1/2 cups pureed butternut squash
3 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract 
2 tsp pie spice extract (or mix of powdered spices noted above)
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
Canola oil for frying

Sift together baking powder, salt, baking soda, flour and spice blend (if using powdered spices).  Set aside.

In another bowl, beat together eggs, sugar and butter until smooth.  Add vanilla extract, milk, butternut squash puree and pie spice extract (if using).  Beat for 30 seconds on medium speed or until evenly blended.

Fold the flour mixture into the bater with a wooden spoon and mix until no dry streaks remain.  Cover and place in the fridge.

Prepare a pan by filling with 1 1/2 inches of canola oil.   Layer 3 sheets of paper towels on top of 2 baking sheets for the donuts to drain on. Place a deep fry thermometer in the oil and heat the oil to 365-370 degrees Fahrenheit.

At this time, you will need to decide on a topping for the doughnuts.  Joy the baker has compiled several options from Bon Appetit, which you can find here.   I just opted to roll them in white sugar.  Prepare your topping and place in a bowl beside the baking sheets.  If you are using a glaze, place a cooling rack over a flat surface covered with wax paper.

Once the oil reaches the correct temperature, drop batter by round spoonfuls into the oil.  A soup spoon is a great size to use.   Only drop four at a time to cook at once.  Let cook for about 2 minutes on each side and then remove and place on paper towels to cool.  Let cool for 3 minutes and roll in sugar mixture or dip in glaze.  After coating the sugar ones, you can place on a plate.  If you dip them in glaze, place the donuts on a cooling rack to set.  Repeat process with the remaining batter.