Baked Doughnuts

My first trial on dough nuts was a fried one. I didn’t know much about the texture and taste of dough nuts when I made those and honestly, I hadn’t done my homework well before attempting to make it. The result was not so satisfactory though my doughnuts really looked pretty and tasted well while it was hot. It became a bit elastic the next day when I warmed up in a microwave and also it tasted a bit oily.

Naturally, my next agenda was to try out a baked version of the same. What better occasion than to try these to impress my little niece (who is a big fan of dough nuts and had already demanded that I make those when she visited me) on her visit to Chennai. So, here is my version of baked doughnuts..

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• Maida 1 cup (125 gm)
• Salt a pinch
• Sugar 1 tbsp
• Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp
• Butter 1 tbsp
• Curd 1 tbsp
• Milk approx 80-90 ml
• Instant yeast 1/4 tsp

For the chocolate glaze:

• Fresh cream 75-100 ml
• Chocolate pieces/choco chips 150-200 gm

Method:

How to bake the doughnuts:

• Add salt, sugar, curd and yeast to maida and mix well. Knead it with lukewarm milk, vanilla extract and butter for 6-8 minutes till you get a soft and smooth dough.
• Keep it aside in a well oiled bowl and cover the bowl with a clean cling film till it doubles in size. (It will take almost an hour)
• Gently punch the dough and knead for a minute or so. Roll it into circle of approx 1/3 rd inch thickness.
• Cut out circles using a doughnut cutter or a tin  lid. Make a hole in the centre using a smaller lid. ( I used the back side of the piping nozzle).
• Keep these on a lightly floured parchment paper and allow it to proof for another 25-30 minutes till it is fluffy. Apply some milk or oil on top of these doughnuts to prevent it from drying.
• Bake these in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for about 20-25 minutes or till the top is golden in colour.
• You can apply milk wash for a perfect golden sheen.

For the chocolate glaze:

• Gently heat the fresh cream and pour it on finely chopped chocolate pieces and mix well till the chocolate melts. You can add few drops of vanilla extract. Adjust the quantity of cream to get a dipping consistency.

For the final assembly:

• Dip the baked doughnuts in the ganache and keep on a wire rack. Decorate it with colourful sprinklers or silver balls or white chocolate drizzle. You can use your creativity and come up with awesome patterns.

Notes:

• From my experience, I have found baked doughnuts to be better than fried ones.
• Atleast it’s a healthy version, so it is definitely a bit guilt free 🙂 Fried ones has a bit of oily taste after few hours.
•  I got 11 doughnuts. Not big like store ones, but surely better for small kids to handle and eat.
• You can refer to my post on fried dough nuts and please share your views on which one is better, fried or baked?