Baked Cake Doughnuts

Posted by nutrition to kitchen on August 2, 2010 · 16 Comments 

Last week, I walked out of one of my favorite cookware stores with a brand-new find – a doughnut pan!  I have always wanted to try baking doughnuts (less fat than regular fried doughnuts) so this was ideal to make perfectly round cake doughnuts.  I’ll probably be testing a few more recipes in the near future (some recipes courtesy of my friend Pheobes!), but for my first run, I decided to go with the recipe printed on the back of the pan’s packaging.  It only had two tablespoons of butter in the entire batter and I noticed that buttermilk was used, lending itself to a tender crumb, so I decided to go for it. I tried to find white whole-wheat flour in my nearest market, but was unlucky with that.  Once I do find it, I’ll experiment more with adding whole grains, but for this trial run, I just stuck with the recipe featured.

This recipe was so easy (I just used a whisk to combine all the ingredients), and it was fun to look at the progress while leaving the oven light on.  You HAVE to add the nutmeg – it’s essential for this cake doughnut!  I made a simple glaze out of about 1 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar and a couple tablespoons of slim milk.  No need for a recipe there – just add more sugar if your glaze is too runny, or a touch more milk if it’s too thick.  Dip half the doughnut into the glaze and decorate with fun sprinkles or chopped walnuts, or just dip the doughnuts in powdered sugar if you want.

These doughnuts had a pretty good flavor, but if you’re going to make all 12, make sure you have a crowd, because they’re best fresh.  They tend to dry out on the next day, possibly because there’s little fat in the recipe. But isn’t that the thing with most doughnuts?  Anyways, hope you enjoy! 🙂

Baked Cake Doughnuts

recipe found on Wilton* Donut Pan packaging

makes 12 regular-sized donuts

2 cups cake flour, sifted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk (I used low-fat)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp butter, melted

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 425°F.  Spray the 6-cavity donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk in buttermilk, eggs, and butter and beat until just combined.  Fill each donut cup until about 2/3 full.

3.  Bake 7-9 minutes, or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched.  Cool in pan for about 4-5 minutes before removing from pan.  Complete donuts with either a dusting of powdered sugar, glaze, or cinnamon-sugar topping.  Best served fresh on the same day.

Nutrition Facts (approximate per doughnut, cake only, without glaze or powdered sugar topping): 167 calories, 3 grams fat, 31.3 grams carbohydrate, 3.45 grams protein

*full disclosure: I do not work for Wilton industries, and I am not a spokesperson for them.  I just like their doughnut pan! 🙂

Filed under breakfast, desserts