This has to be the best bad idea I’ve had in a while: buying a doughnut pan.
I resisted and resisted for as long as I could, knowing that once I had one of these things in my house I’d have no choice but to bake doughnuts as often as I wanted (could I handle this?). But then as I was contemplating ideas for Valentine’s Day treats – especially those that pair well with coffee (see the Seattle’s Best Coffee Giveaway at the end of today’s post! 5 winners!) – the thought of heart-shaped doughnuts entered my head. End of story: within 45 seconds, I’d reached for my phone, pulled up the Amazon app, found a Wilton heart-shaped doughnut pan for $10 and pressed the button for one-click ordering. And it was done.
I must say that baking doughnuts was far easier and way more fun than I anticipated. Help! The batter takes about the same amount of effort as pancakes or waffles and they only take 5 minutes in the oven to bake. They’re somewhere between a muffin and a madeleine – like a muffin that holds its shape without crumbling much. Where the magic really happens is with the glaze. I made both the pink raspberry glaze from the Wilton package (pretty!) and Alton Brown’s chocolate glaze which were just the right sweet finishing touches for these doughnuts. And then, of course, I had fun with a few different kinds of sprinkles.
Seattle’s Best Coffee Giveaway! FIVE Winners!
You can’t have doughnuts without coffee. Enter to win a sampler pack of Seattle’s Best Coffee, featuring its new Level system that makes it easy to choose a blend that matches your taste preferences from a mild, light, crisp Level 1 to a bold, dark and intense Level 5. The sampler pack contains each of the five Levels.
To enter: [THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED] Leave a comment on this post telling us how you like your coffee. (Ex: I like bold roasts – but still decaf – with a splash of lowfat milk and one Splenda.)
One entry per person, please. The contest ends this Friday, February 4 at 12 PM PST. FIVE winners will be selected at random and announced in this post later that day. This giveaway is open to those with U.S. and Canadian addresses only.
** UPDATE (2/4/11) : Congrats to the winners!
#23 – David
#67 – Victoria Furin
#13 – Sharlene
#121 – Wendy
#50 – Ellen S.
Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
From the Wilton Heart Doughnut Pan package
Makes 24 doughnuts
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray (I used Pam for Baking).
In large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla; mix gently until just combined. Fill each doughnut cup approximately 1/2 full (2 tablespoons batter).
Bake 4-5 minutes or until the tops of the doughnuts spring back when touched. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes before removing. Repeat with remaining batter. Finish doughnuts with desired toppings. Doughnuts are best served fresh.
Raspberry Glaze
From the Wilton Heart Doughnut Pan package
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon milk
Pink food color (optional – I didn’t use it)
DIRECTIONS:
In small bowl, stir together sugar, jam and milk; mix until sugar is completely dissolved. Mix in color if desired. Use immediately to glaze doughnuts.
Chocolate Glaze
From Alton Brown on FoodNetwork.com
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
DIRECTIONS:
Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Turn off heat, add the confectioners’ sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately. Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.
Thanks to Seattle’s Best Coffee for providing the sampler packs for today’s giveaway.
I love Seattle’s Best smooth, full-flavored coffee with Splenda and non-fat half and half.
I like my coffee at it’s fighting weight. Strong & black, but with some Splenda. Coffee just isn’t coffee without some weird processed chemicals thrown in!
Bold & Strong – and it has to be HOT. Top it off w/ steamed almond milk and a pack of Stevia.
In the morning I like the bold coffee’s with a splash of sugar free vanilla & fat free half and half.
In the afternoon/early evening I like mild/medium coffee, iced with 1% milk or fat free half & half and sugar free cinnamom dolce flavoring.
Bold with a little flavored “sugar free” creamer…
Man…coffee & donuts (homemade even!) on a snow-bound winter’s day–*that’s* the stuff dreams are made of (or also–having a nice pot of soup simmering on the stove)!
I like my coffee a medium roast (Columbian coffee = love) and with some milk and a lil’ bit of sugar, sugah! 😉
i like decaf coffee with some half and half no sugar please i’m sweet enough lol and some homemade baked goods
I love my coffee with a rich,roasty aroma flavor with a splash of half nd half nd regular milk nd with 1 equal!!! (I noe it sounds weird with da milk combination,but i just love da taste!!!)
I like my coffee black. Seattle’s Best coffee has such great flavor that you do not need to add any cream or sugar to have a great cup of coffee! I wish it were more available in NY.
I love bold roast but had to start mixing in decaf. Right now i am mixing medium roast kona peaberry with dark roast decaf. I always put half n half in my coffee but I hate those flavored creamers and those powdered creamers are just gross. I love having decaf lattes with lots of cocoa to put on top. The cocoa just makes the latte better.
I like my coffee to be dark but smooth (6th Ave.) Mostly I drink it 1/2 a cup at a time straight black.
Strong coffee is my choice and if I am feeling in the mood for cream it is 1/2 & 1/2 or Bailey’s Creamer!
Bold roast, on the sweeter-side, black, and sometimes with a little honey!
I like bold morning pick & with a splash of whole milk and dash of vanilla!
Those chocolate doughnuts would go great with my coffee. I like a bold taste with 1 teaspoon of sugar and hazelnut creamer.
I like my coffee strong with 1 packet of creamer and 1 packet of Splenda.
I like a big cup of regular coffee with 3 Splendas and a shot of flavored creamer.
I like flavored coffee or decaf, 2% milk and one pack of sweet and low. =)
Thank you so much.
My favorite coffee is medium roast latte with caramel drizzle.
I love dark roasts, mainly French Roast. I take it with half-n-half and doughnuts if I can get them. Love the heart-shaped Valentine doughnuts you made. Gotta have that recipe. Thanks!
I just made baked donuts for the first time this past weekend even though I’ve had a mini-dounut pan for a few years now. They were whole-wheat powdered sugar donuts and were SO easy! We loved them and I’m definitely thinking about expanding my donut repetoire so your post is perfect timing.
I usually have my coffee as a mid-morning pick-me-up and I’m really not too picky about it except it needs to be caffeinated and it has to have far too much flavored creamer in it. I’m thinking about switching to a flavored syrup with milk instead (not so much fake stuff!)
So cute! I like my coffee (decaf) with splenda and a splash of milk. But I also like it iced with sugar and cream.
Fav right now is Casi Cielo with creamer and Ideal sweetner ! Love this coffee.
bold with flavored creamer! Having a donut pan sounds too dangerous for me! They look yummy though!
I love a strong-brewed bold roast, decaf, filling 1/2 my cup with 1/4 cup skim milk and 1/4 cup flavored creamer (International Delights Cinnabon is my current flavor, mmmmm)!
I like my coffee hot, with good flavor, but not burnt. 2 skim milks, no sugar. On the weekends, flavored creamer. For rough workday mornings, hot, strong, and black.
I like mine strong but not a bitter after taste. Lots of organic milk and a little sugar. Yum!
I like it dark and bold. No cream or sugar, but occasionally a dash of hazelnut syrup makes me happy.
Buen día. Unos roscos que han de estar bueniiiiiiisimos. Me puedes decir: ¿Cuantos gramos son una taza?. Nosotros medimos con gr. o ml.
Un saludo,
Carmen
Hola Carmen – Hay 125 gramos en una taza de harina. Se puede encontrar otras conversiones aqui: http://allrecipes.com/howto/cup-to-gram-conversions/ ~ Kathy