If I had to decide between a muffin, a doughnut or a bagel for breakfast, hands down, it would be a doughnut. Krispy Kreme, Dunkin', Maple Glazed, I don't care who makes them, I love them. I finally got my doughnut pan on Friday and couldn't wait to jump into the world of baked doughnuts. I packed up the pan, some fresh picked blueberries and a bag of lemons and headed to New Jersey with a mission: Spend time with great friends, hit some sand and sun at the beach and bake some doughnuts.
My favorite doughnut has always been a blueberry cake doughnut with glaze. I love how they're slightly crisp on the outside from their bath in the fryer and a fresh coat of glaze. Yet they are moist, cakey and overloaded with sweet blueberries inside.
I knew that a baked doughnut would not have the same texture of a traditionally fried doughnut. Realistically, I was expecting them to be a doughnut shaped muffin. I found this to be somewhat true, though the doughnuts were a little more dense than a muffin.
These baked doughnuts are very good in their own confused, "am I a muffin, a doughnut, or a cupcake" kind of way. They're full of sweet blueberries and zesty lemon with a sweet but subtle glaze. They're quick and easy to make and cost much less than a half dozen doughnuts from the grocery store. Not to mention they're supposedly much healthier than their greased up counterparts.
But, I still prefer my doughnuts fried. Though, I'm sure my waistline would prefer otherwise.
Lemon Blueberry Baked Doughnuts with Vanilla Bean Glaze
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats
Makes 6 doughnuts
1 cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons buttermilk
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter, melted
For the Glaze:
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the buttermilk, egg, melted butter and vanilla bean paste. Stir or whisk until thoroughly combined. Toss the blueberries in a light coating of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan. Add the blueberries into the batter with the lemon zest. Stir until combined.
Transfer the batter to a large ziplock bag. Cut the end off and pipe the batter into the doughnut pan.
Bake for 9-10 minutes until the doughnut is set. They won't get golden brown, but the dough should have a spring to it. Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for a few minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack.
For the glaze: Combine milk, powdered sugar and the vanilla bean paste in a small bowl. Drizzle the cooled doughnuts with the glaze. Garnish with sprinkles or extra lemon zest.
What's your favorite doughnut?
