All of my pretty Valentine’s Day sprinkles were just calling out to be used with donuts. Every time I make homemade donuts, I can’t believe that I don’t make them more often, because they are SO easy and so quick.
And because they are baked, and not fried, they are a bit less sinful than Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme.
I made this batch with white whole wheat flour, and while they a slightly different texture (not bad, just a bit different) they are still so yummy and I don’t feel quite so guilty giving them to the kiddos as a special weekend morning treat.
I LOVE my Babycakes Donut Maker (and highly recommend it) but this recipe CAN be made with a regular donut pan. I have this donut pan, but how cute would this heart donut pan be??? Adorable!!!
I split this batch in half – making half in the Babycakes machine and half in the oven. And truth be told you could probably get a decent result making them in a muffin pan – so there is no excuse not to whip some up.
I used the Chocolate Donut Recipe on the Babycakes website. I highly recommend it, as well as their Sour Cream Donut Recipe. I haven’t tried their others, but I’m confident they are great as well.
I did use dark cocoa in place of regular (I adore dark chocolate) and I used white whole wheat flour instead of all purpose. They are just as moist, but the texture is a bit different – not drier, maybe just a tad grittier? My daughter and husband both noticed the difference, but had no objections – and neither has a problem objecting! I will say that the difference in texture is the most noticeable while they are still warm and seems to lessen as they cool and set.
The batter is very thick, and you want to mix it until it’s just combined, but do not over mix. I put my batter into a large Ziploc freezer bag, and then pipe it into the donut maker and pan.
For making these in the oven, I baked them at 325 degrees for 11-13 minutes, and in the donut maker it was about 4-5 minutes. I said quick and easy!
With baked donuts, I find that they can dry out pretty quickly. The best solution I have found is to make a very thin glaze with water, powdered sugar and vanilla and give them all a good coating while they are still warm. Not only does this add a delicious sweetness, but it also helps seal them and keep them moist.
This is one of those things I’m not terribly specific about when I make it – about a cup of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 TSBP of water – you can mix by hand or with a mixer. You want a runny consistency as you aren’t frosting the donut with this, just giving it a dunk. I drop mine in, flip them over with a fork and then sit on a wire rack with wax paper or foil below to catch the drippings.
You can call it good right here, they will be de-lish. They remind me of the glazed chocolate cake donuts at the donut shops (my fave). But I’m all about over the top and sprinkles, which take just a few more steps. For the chocolate topped donuts I followed this recipe for Satiny Chocolate Glaze in the microwave – it took less than a minute. For the small size donuts that I made in my donut maker, I just dipped the tops of the donuts into the glaze. For the full size donuts I find that it works better to just spoon a bit on the top and spread it a bit.
After that add some pretty sprinkles!
I also wanted to do some with a vanilla glaze, so I used a recipe from my friend Averie, of Love Veggies & Yoga. If you haven’t checked out Averie’s blog, DO IT NOW. Seriously, this girl has the most amazing recipes and the most amazing photos. I think I may just need to share some of my favorites of hers with you later this week – so stay tuned for that.
That is it! They are so yummy and so cute! Who wouldn’t love waking up to some of these on Valentine’s Day???? Or just Tuesday? Any day!
Now can someone pass the milk???
Christi your donuts are GORGEOUS! I love them…so beautiful. You have such a creative eye for your decorating, too..and very steady hands
I have the Babycakes donut hole/cakepop ball maker which I’ve only used a few times because you can’t submerge the machine and I find it’s faster to just make them in the oven but now you make me want to break out my machine again. Good to know the batter works just as well in either the machine or the oven.
So pretty! Might have to get a donut makrt
These are so incredibly cute, and I can only imagine how yummy they are! I have to get myself a donut pan!
~Donika
Very cute and yummy looking
wow!! your donuts are perfect! your photos are stunning, too. i would love to wake up to the vanilla frosted ones with pink heart sprinkles. i love your blog so much! PS: i LOVE averie’s blog too! you are both geniouses in the kitchen and behind the camera
These look so cute and moist and perfect! I want that donut maker so bad!
So, I dont want to be a bother, but you just seem like the person to ask.. I recently found a recipe for a marshmallow thing that one “eats like ice cream” its like marshmallows and some sort of chocolate melted together then frozen? would you happen to know anything about that?
ariana.flood@gmail.com
These look SO good! Definitely the most tempting Valentine’s treat I’ve seen so far.
Delish! Just look at those little cuties!! Thank you for the tip about the coat of icing for moisture… Now I have a good excuse to add a little more sugar! ;0)
Ariana, I’m afraid I have no idea what that is. I would think that it would become rock hard when frozen, but honestly I’ve never tried anything like it, so I’m not sure. I’d say give it a test run and see how it turns out!
Oh boy, these look divine! It makes me want to bust out my doughnut pan right now! I don’t use it that often and you’re right, it is easy and I should make them more often! I love the idea of a quick glaze. I am going to try these!
Hi! I just had a question about the cocoa powder.
How much did you add in? And did you take any flour out? The original recipe has no cocoa in it so I was a little confused….how much did you use?
The donuts looks DELISH! Hope to hear from you soon
Oh these look great, I tried making donuts on friday night, not as good as yours by a long shot, so I will try this next time!
These look so cute! I have been looking for a good baked donut recipe. Thanks for the creative ideas!
Hi Hannah, were you looking at the chocolate donut recipe or the sour cream? The chocolate recipe calls for 1/2 cup cocoa powder… http://thebabycakesshop.com/tips-and-recipes/2011/02/chocolate-donuts/ Hope that helps! It’s a great recipe.
Love the idea of baked donuts. I might have to get a donut pan now . .. although that could be trouble!
Oh my! These look so chocolatey and perfect for my little valentines! I recently got a donut pan and have been wanting to make chocolate donuts…perfect!
Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe
oough… such chocolates… give me a sec. I’m drooling.
Beautiful and delicious – a perfect Valentine’s treat!
Mary x
YUMMY! Those look so delicious. Can you fedex those donuts to my house? LOL!
@ Christi
Oooh yes the chocolate donuts! Thank you so much!! I’m making these for Valentines Day for my church group and I’m so, so excited
Hi! I am thinking of making these for Vday and put them on a stick, probably a popsicle stick. Do you think that glaze will work?
Hey – fun site! I noticed that you had another post where you used the Bella donut maker too. What is your all time favorite way to make donuts/best results? Oven, Bella, Babycakes, other?
Thanks!
Nat, I would have to go with the Babycakes Maker followed by baking them in a donut pan. I imagine frying them would be amazing, but if I learned how to do that I’d probably be too busy eating donuts to ever write about them!
this looks yummy! how do i share this, very new to this website