Doughnut Time – Baked Espresso Glazed Doughnuts

Here we go – just another doughnut post. But if you know better, you know baked doughnuts are anything but another ordinary recipe. They are simple to make and so much fun to eat.

I have made every single baked doughnut recipe from Shutterbean’s amazing blog but I left the espresso one last because… there was no espresso in my house until recently. Also, I might like cream cheese on a lot of things but with espresso? I was skeptical.

So I made it – one very random Friday night because I wanted something sweet after dinner. All the ingredients were readily available in my limited space pantry. The doughnut pan looks slightly left out, sitting at the bottom of my kitchen cupboard. For a while, it was always on the top of the stack of pans I have accumulated over the years (or months). But lately, it has been moving lower in the pile and when I pulled it out on Friday evening, it was the second last pan from the bottom. The bottom pan is a cookie sheet that is too big to fit into my current apartment’s oven. Everything is just smaller in the city, especially the newer ones. Sometimes I wonder if I invite a few guests over, will they feel slightly claustrophobic. Only one way to find out…

So anyway, this is how I ended up with 6 espresso glazed baked doughnuts at 8pm on a random Friday. It was totally unplanned, just prompted by my insatiable desire for sweets every so often – though I cannot explain why I readily had cream cheese in my fridge. Yep, totally unplanned.

The doughnut is lovely. Something about the combination of the cream cheese and espresso that makes it stands out. However, the next time I make these doughnuts, I’ll be cutting down on the sugar. I may like my sweets but I don’t usually like to be KO-ed by my sweets.

PS: Due to my crappy habit of baking in the evening lately, the photo quality is a little annoying. I apologize. Here, have my doughnut…

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BAKED ESPRESSO GLAZED DOUGHNUTS
Recipe from Shutterbean
makes 6

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the glaze:

• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 3 oz. (6 tablespoons) cream cheese, melted
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 160°C. Coat doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter and set aside.

In a mixer bowl, add flour, cocoa, baking soda, espresso powder and salt – stir until combined. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, sugar, egg, oil and vanilla until smooth. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; beat until combined and well incorporated.

Pour the batter into a large resealable plastic bag. Snip off the corner and pipe the batter into prepared doughnut pan – about 2/3 full. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until doughnuts spring back when lightly pressed.

Allow doughnuts to cool in pan for a few minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool.

To make the glaze: combine espresso powder with hot water in a small bowl until dissolved. Stir in the melted cream cheese until combined. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar. Use the vanilla and milk to thin out the glaze. If the glaze is too thin, add more sugar. If it is too thick, add a little milk.

Dip cooled doughnuts into the bowl of glaze and transfer to rack. Allow the excess glaze to drip off the doughnuts. Top with chocolate sprinkles.

Doughnuts will keep in an air tight container for 2 to 3 days.