Red Velvet Cake Donuts

Hello friends!

I am finally back in the kitchen whipping up sweet treats to share with you. It took so much self-control to stay off my leg when I had some serious cravings last week, but now I plan to satisfy all of those cravings in the next few posts.

First, a few thoughts on my month of cupcakes challenge. I have learned that, quite honestly, doing an entire month of one type of baked good is not my thing. I am pretty much cupcake-d out...Forever. Or at least for a few weeks.

So with that in mind, naturally the craving I had for red velvet cake was not going to happen if it came out of my kitchen. One week later though, I found myself in the kitchen baking up red velvet...

donuts.

You really didn't think it was going to be another cupcake, did you?

Oh how I love donuts, especially the baked kind which leave me less guilty than their (in my opinion) more delicious yet more terrible for you fried counterparts. Trust me, I'd go for a Krispy Kreme over a baked-cake donut if given the chance, but I can eat more of these delectable donuts without feeling quite so bad about eating them.

These came out absolutely wonderful and right on par with the red velvet flavor I was craving so badly. Think of these as red velvet cake on-the-go! Add some fresh vanilla frosting and you are set.

Happy Baking!

Red Velvet Cake Donuts slightly adapted from Taste&Tell

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
3-4 tbsp semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk
red food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease donut pan(s) with cooking spray. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together egg and sugar until light and smooth.
3. Beat in melted butter and chocolate chips, then slowly beat in buttermilk.
4. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring until just combined.
5. Fill donut pan cavities 2/3 full with batter (will be very thick, piping it in might be easiest) and bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes or until they spring back lightly when touched.

Vanilla Frosting:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter, cooled slightly
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-3 tbsp warm water

1. Add butter and vanilla to medium bowl. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar.
2. Use tablespoonfuls of warm water to achieve desired consistency.
3. Dip donuts in frosting, then pick up, allowing excess to drip off. Cover with sprinkles or smooth out with spatula.

Fresh Lemon and Strawberry Frosted Donuts

Hello all,

Daylight Savings Time has passed this weekend and I have to tell you, I am LOVING the extra sunlight. It just makes the days so much cheerier, granted I am currently writing to you from Florida (the Sunshine State). I am sure when I get back to NJ I will be greeted by the lovely gray, overcast weather I have come to call my own.

But while I'm still down here catching the rays, I thought I'd share these fresh fruit-frosted donuts with you!

I can't say I looked up the lemon frosting, but sadly I did discover that Strawberry Frosted Donuts, from say Dunkin Donuts, are not frosted with anything that resembles real strawberrries. Gross. 

How are we still okay with that? I mean I understand that if you use real strawberries it wont be as smooth and glossy, but I think that might very well be a sacrifice we are willing to make for real fruit frostings.

Regardless, mine utilize the wonderful fresh strawberries down here in Florida, along with some lovely fresh lemons as well.

I ran into some trouble with lighting for my photos (when does that not happen) but discovered that the sun was the perfect accompaniment to my donuts. Now if only NJ was this bright all the time I'd take all my photos outside each morning!

I've included the basic sour cream donut recipe below along with the new fruit glazes/frostings. Feel free to switch out the lemon juice for lime (key lime donuts anyone?) or use your favorite fruit in place of the strawberries. The possibilites are endless, not to mention delcious.

Happy Baking!

Sour Cream Donuts (makes about 2 dozen mini donuts)
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. In separate bowl whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients. Using a mixer on medium speed, blend until smooth.
3. Fill each cooking reservoir with about 2 tbsp of batter.
4. Bake about 4-5 minutes or until donut springs back when touched.
5. Glaze or coat with powdered or cinnamon sugar.

Fresh Lemon Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
splash of milk

1. Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and begin to stir. Add milk slowly, until consistency is smooth but still thick.
 
Fresh Strawberry Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup strawberries
splash of milk

1. Sift powdered sugar into medium bowl. Pulse straberries in food processor until completely chopped. Scrape strawberry puree into powdered sugar and whisk until it comes together. Add splash of milk as needed to create smooth consistency.

 To frost donuts: dip donut in frosting, pull up and allow excess to drip off. Poke hole in center with finger to allow frosting to form to shape of donut. Then allow to dry on cooling rack or dip in sprinkles.

End of the Semester Holiday Donuts

The holiday season also brings with it my favorite kind of season at college - end of the semester. I am one of the few, fortunate souls who just have a million papers dues instead of a million finals. Because of this, I figured I'd surprise my 18th Century Women Writers Class with some End of the Semester Surprise Donuts!

We've been pretty much beating Pride and Prejudice to death so I thought we could all use a little something to keep us going.

I also had the perk of not having class until 2:50 today (seriously, isn't the end of the semester insane? My work day doesn't start today until 3pm. Who would've thought I could get away with that?) so I had the entire morning to test out my adorable, new Wilton Donut Pan. This was one of my Black Thursday steals from Michaels: the last one in the store for about $7.

I went ahead and used the Father's Day Donuts Recipe from awhile back, but with a little twist. I made an eggnog frosting instead of just plain ol' vanilla. I did mention that I love eggnog right?

Of course, for those who don't share my well-founded passion for eggnog, I frosted a few with chocolate as well. I topped them all off with some holiday sprinkles and ta-da! Holiday Donuts.

Again, the recipe for the donuts is here, (with the switch that you bake them at 400 for 7 minutes in the pan) but I've included the recipe for the Eggnog frosting/glaze below. I know the season is a busy one for most of us, but if you have the time to spare, these are definitely worth it.

Happy Baking!

Eggnog Frosting/Donut Glaze


1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp eggnog

1. Measure out powdered sugar, then stir in eggnog until combined. Add more eggnog to smooth out consistency if needed.

Donut Photo Shoot

Hello all!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I must confess I felt quite uninspired this week. Well, no, that's not true. I felt inspired to try out BrownEyedBaker's Salted Caramel Brownies...which, when attempted by yours truly, were then aptly renamed Disappointing Burnt Butter Brownies >_< . Not good my friends, not good.

To add to my frustrations, I received yet another photo reject from FoodGawker (FG). I have been trying feverishly to get just one of my photos from my posts up on there, unfortunately to no avail. My composition is always too tight or my lighting is off. Rawr I say. I've seen plenty on that site with tighter compositions than mine.

So what is a girl to do? I go and check out some of my favorite baking blogs, and I just start to daydream about having oh, I don't know, 500 followers? Having a whole gallery on FG? Having recipes that other bakers drool over?

Alas, it is not to be. Well, not yet anyway. I know it takes time, but seriously, it can get frustrating. All of you out there who are like me, trying to gain a following either here on Blogger, or with FoodBuzz or FG, with no success, you know what I mean. It gets better though; I think. I hope.

After telling myself to pull it together, I decided that I would do a post that gives me some more practice with my food-styling. Although I am a writer, the photo-taking aspect of blogging is still new for me, which sort of explains the rejections from FG.

So the new motto for me (and my blog) is practice! practice! practice! Failure is not bad; it just means I learned a whole new way not to do something.

And what else should I dedicate an entire photo shoot to but one of my favorite little treats - mini donuts!

There's a recipe via PinchofYum at the end of the post after the photos. Hope you enjoy looking as much as I enjoyed decorating and photographing! Enjoy!

Vanilla Mini Donuts with Chocolate Frosting (Slightly adapted from Pinch of Yum)

1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter

1. Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add vanilla, buttermilk, egg and melted butter all at once and stir until just combined.
3. Bake 4-6 minutes in Donut Maker. Let cool then dip in Chocolate Frosting.

Chocolate Frosting Via Food.com


1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4-6 tbsp hot water
4 oz milk chocolate chips

1. Melt butter and chocolate chips in 15 second intervals in microwave.
2. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
3. Add enough hot water to achieve smooth consistency.