I have a weakness for baking pans. Whenever I am in a kitchenware shop, I will invariably wander over the baking section, staring at and being in awe of all the baking pans that could be mine. For a couple of years now, I have wanted a doughnut tray. I love doughnuts–fried dough and sugar–what is not to love? However, for the following reasons, I don’t really want to make doughnuts at home.
Firstly, you will need to use a fair amount of oil to fry the dough. And you cannot exactly re-use the oil after frying–so it’s quite a waste. And after all the frying is done, there is an oily kitchen waiting to be cleaned. My solution? Baked doughnuts. I have done baked doughnuts using yeasted dough. Though they do not require a special tray, they do take a long time and quite a lot of effort to make. Since I got myself a doughnut tray over the holidays, I was dying for a test-run.
This particular recipe that I found is extremely easy, fast and healthy. The entire prepping and baking process takes less than 30 minutes. This is especially useful when facing screaming kids who want a snack NOW. I was also pleasantly surprised by the texture of the doughnut–soft and fluffy. Despite the absence of butter in the recipe, the doughnuts are really delicious on their own or lightly dabbed with cinnamon sugar.
Baked doughnuts
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour’s baked doughnuts)
If you do not have a doughnut tray, you can easily use a mini-muffin tray or mini-muffin paper cups. The baking time will be a minute or two longer. The most important tip is that you can actually bake these in a toaster oven too. I quite like these doughnuts plain but go ahead and explore a different glaze or topping. You can even inject jam or whipped cream into the doughnuts.
Recipe type: Snack, Dessert
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5-7 minutes
Total time: 22 minutes
Serve: Makes about 24 mini doughnuts/ mini muffins
Ingredients
113g unbleached white pastry flour (I used Bob’s Red Mills which is available in selected Cold Storage and Jason’s)
60g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg (I prefer freshly grated nutmeg as it is not as strong as the powdered version)
¼ teaspoon (kosher) salt (table salt is fine)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons yoghurt (you can use full-fat or low-fat)
– Preheat the oven to 190oC.
– In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt together, and set aside.
– In another bowl, put in the eggs, oil and yoghurt together. Using a whisk, beat the ingredients until foamy.
– Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until combined (you can use the same whisk for this job). Don’t be too overzealous with the mixing – just make sure there are no flour streaks.
– Grease the doughnut/ mini-muffin pan well even if you are using non-stick pan. The batter is low in fat so it might stick to the pan. If you are using mini-muffin paper cups, you can skip this process.
– Using a teaspoon, fill each doughnut form/ mini-muffin cup half full. It is about 1½ teaspoon of batter per doughnut/mini muffin.
– Place the doughnut/ mini-muffin tray on a baking tray and put it in the oven. This will ensure an even baking surface at the bottom.
– Bake the doughnuts for 5-7 minutes (for mini muffins, you will need another 1-2 minutes baking time). To check if the doughnuts are cooked, you can either lightly touch them (and they should spring back) or insert a toothpick (and you should get a bit of crumbs clinging onto it). When done, the doughnut will be lightly browned.
– Remove the doughnuts/ mini muffins from the pan and allow them to cook on a rack. Serve warm on its own or coat with cinnamon sugar or your favourite glaze.
– They are best on the day they’re baked. For leftovers, keep them in an airtight container for up to a day.
About Mandy Ng
Mandy’s journey into the culinary world began out of necessity–a means of survival whilst she was at university. She believes cooking should be simple and fun. Besides spending time in the kitchen whipping up hearty meals, Mandy also dreams of having a bottomless stomach that she can fill with all kinds of delicious things.
