Before my first attempt at homemade deep-fried doughnuts, I purchased a Wilton Doughnut Pan. Once I tasted the real thing, (the fried doughnut), I didn't really see a reason why I would ever make "baked cake doughnuts". Nonetheless, I still kept the pan. Months later, I wanted to make doughnuts but did not have time to make the dough and let it rest for several hours. I needed a quick solution. So, I thought I would try out these baked doughnuts and see if they were any good. I used the recipe (shown below) on the packaging of the pan (that I had never removed until today).
Out of the oven, came these Baked Doughnuts:
Something inside me just couldn't accept that as a doughnut. They look so....wholesome and fair. It just wasn't right. Soooo, I threw some canola oil in the round dutch oven and let the temperature get to about 375F. Fry, baby, fry! Coming out of the frier, they look much more promising.
You know how sometimes a tan isn't necessarily healthy for you, but it just makes you look more attractive? Yeah. It's like that. Perhaps just a quick dip in some confectioners' glaze would give you just a glisten of sweetness.
Now that's my kind of makeover.
Oh, and just to see how far I could push the envelope on this one... I tried coating the baked doughnuts in a deep fry batter before deep frying them and showering them in powdered sugar. Perhaps a bit aggressive for breakfast, but it was a fun experiment.
The cake in the center is a bit too heavy for pulling off the batter, but it sure does look pretty.
So, my verdict on baked cake doughnuts? They aren't going to ever beat out deep-fried yeast doughnuts mano e mano, but they work in a time pinch. The deep-frying helps them "fake it 'til you make it" a little better, provided as long as you weren't baking them to be healthy or something ridiculous like that...
Confectioners Sugar Glaze
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 teaspoon of salt
a few drops of lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients together in bowl until fully smooth. Dip each doughnut (while still warm) into glaze until at least one half is fully coated. Let excess drip off into bowl.
Transfer glazed doughnuts to wire rack over a baking sheet to catch dripping glaze.
Best served warm (or room temp.) and slightly sticky! Eat same day.
Deep Fry Batter
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp safflower oil
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a measuring cup, whisk together milk, vinegar, and oil. Slowly add the wet to dry ingredients. Whisk until combined.
Dip doughnut into batter briefly just until fully coated, flipping if necessary. Let excess drip off into mixing bowl before carefully lowering battered doughnut into the deep fry.