Baked Red Velvet Cake Doughnuts

Baked Red Velvet Cake Doughnuts.

October 17, 2011

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I swore that I wouldn’t do this.

I didn’t want to buy a doughnut pan.

I didn’t want to bake doughnuts.

I especially didn’t want to bake doughnuts and post them on my blog.

I reallllly didn’t want to succumb to the doughnut pan trend.

I didn’t want to do something that I didn’t want to do.

You can see how well that all worked out. Obviously.

But seriously, I didn’t want to bake doughnuts when, let’s be real… they are pretty perfect all on their own after a big bath in the fryer. And they come out with a somewhat funky shape that looks like a doughnut but isn’t a real doughnut. See above.

And while we are on this topic, is it “doughnut” or “donut?” Is it maybe only “donut” because Dunkin’ Donuts says so? I like “donut” better but that’s simply because I’m lazy and would rather not type out an extra “ugh.” Truth!

So, remember when Ashley brought me those doughnuts last week? Yeah. The day after that I had to pack for a trip and work on a few recipes and do a bunch of other stuff that I normally do, but instead of that I drove over an hour just to buy a doughnut pan. Oh and that place didn’t even have a doughnut pan. So I had to drive somewhere else.

Then instead of doing all of the work I was supposed to do, I made about six batches of doughnuts. I took them to my parent’s house that night where they were promptly demolished. Then the next day, the morning of the day we were leaving for our trip, when I should have been doing laundry/cleaning/packing/showering/working, I made two more big batches of doughnuts to take as road trip snacks.

I was all excited and junk because now not only had I decided that I really loved doughnuts, but Mr. How Sweet already loved them. I mean… loved. I figured he’d be pumped. Until he came home from the airport that morning and relayed his breakfast and “power” snacks consisting of one jumbo blueberry muffin, one Cinnabon bun and two Krispy Kremes.

Anyway.

All I could think about on our trip was doughnuts. I wanted to make more and wanted to experiment and wanted to bake a billion apple cider doughnuts and live on them alone. But there were two very specific flavors that I couldn’t get out of my mind; two flavors that were really gnawing at my brain: mint chocolate chip and red velvet.

Mint chocolate chip was my number one choice, but someone in this house hates the chocolate + mint combo. And given my doughnut fixation, I did not think it would be wise to bake a large batch of doughnuts for me, myself and I. Apparently… doughnuts do not an everyday dinner make. Uh… who makes the rules here?

So. Instead of doing anything important last week, I baked red velvet doughnuts. I’m a total sellout. They were way too good not to share, and the good news is that I already own a deep fryer. Fried doughnuts coming up next! Me and the treadmill are BFF’s.

Baked Red Velvet Cake Doughnuts

[adapted from the doughnut recipe of the back of the Wilton pan]

makes 10-12 standard-sized doughnuts

1 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup buttermilk + 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon red food coloring (I used “no taste red” gel)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and baking powder, then mix with a spoon. Add in buttermilk and egg, mixing to combine. Stir in butter. In a small bowl, mix baking soda and vinegar together, then add in vanilla. Add the mixture to the doughnut batter, then stir in red food coloring. Using a pastry bag or spoon (I found a spoon was easier since this batter is more cake-like) fill each doughnut mold 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 7-8 minutes, thne let cool for 5 minutes before removing.

Notes: I tried these with all-purpose flour and while they did work, they weren’t nearly as cakey as the ones made with cake flour. Also, depending on your red food coloring brand, you may want to add it gradually and go by the color of the batter to determine the amount to add.

Whipped Cream Cheese Glaze

1/4 cup whipped cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4-5 tablespoons heavy cream, or more depending on texture

In a bowl, whisk cream cheese vigorously until it smoothes out. Add in sugar, vanilla and cream one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly. This glaze will be a bit thicker (almost like a thin frosting), so add more or less cream depending on your desired consistency. Either dip doughnuts or frost them with a small spoon, then cover in sprinkles or shaved chocolate.