A few months ago I decided that our flat should throw an “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride’ themed party. We all see those glorious dresses lurking around op shops and even our own wardrobes that we just never get the opportunity to wear. My birthday came around so it was decided that it was the perfect excuse to break out the taffeta. Mega props to the newly acquired boyf for not freaking out and running away at such a theme– in fact he surprised me and commuted all the way from down south to attend this shin dig.
I figured since it was kind of a trashy wedding theme a wedding cake should be involved so I may have gone a bit crazy and challenged myself to three tiers of chocolate and salted caramel nakedness. It was a show stopper that’s for sure.
But wedding cake isn’t what this post is about. This post is about glorious little nuggets of baked joy. Mum and Dad got me a baked doughnut pan for Christmas and I have only just now started cranking it. If you can get your hands on one I cannot recommend them enough. What perfect doughnuts it created! Sure they aren’t your typical fried variety but they were so moist and fudgy that you just can't complain.
I found this recipe by Jonathan over at The Candid Appetite. Whilst originally designed to be smothered in salted caramel and pretzels I decided to be slightly more subdued – next time though!
I dipped these in the same chocolate ganache that I drizzle over my cakes. I took the risk and made these earlier in the week and froze them to save time come party day. They froze perfectly and made dipping them in the ganache so much easier. If you prefer a more solid ganache then I would recommend reducing the amount of cream in the recipe by a couple of tablespoons.
Fudgy Baked Chocolate Doughnuts with Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
Recipe adapted from The Candid Appetite
Makes 18
1 ¾ cups plain flour
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
½ cup plain yoghurt
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
½ cup vegetable oil
For the ganache
½ cup cream (35%fat)
120g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
Freeze dried raspberries or sprinkles to decorate
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius on bake. Lightly grease your doughnut pan and put to one side.
Whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cocoa. In a separate bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, yoghurt, oil, vanilla and coffee powder. Make a well in the centre of the dry mix, pour in the wet and mix together until just combined. The batter should be reasonably smooth.
I used a small measuring cup with a pouring lip to gently fill each doughnut hole to about 2/3 to ¾ full (hey I am not always that delicate on the old pour). Bake for 10 minutes until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Transfer the tray to a cooling rack then leave to cool for ten minutes before gently easing each doughnut out of their pan. Wipe the tray clean, grease again and repeat until you bake all your doughnuts. You can wait for these to cool to room temp before icing or you could make life easier and pop these in a plastic container and store in the freezer for a few hours to firm up.
To make the ganache, heat the cream to just below a simmer in a small saucepan. Blitz the chocolate to a crumb in a food processor before transferring to a medium sized bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate then leave to sit for a minute before whisking to a smooth ganache. Leave to cool for ten minutes on the bench then take your chilled doughnuts and dip each one into the chocolate glory. Sprinkle with whatever takes your fancy. If the weather is hot and stuffy like it is here at the moment then leave these in the fridge until you serve them (preferably in another plastic container). These will keep for a couple of days.
Enjoy!