Beet Donuts with Vanilla Glaze

No, your eyes don't deceive you. That title does, indeed, say beet donuts. Here comes the next shock: they're possibly the tastiest donuts I've ever consumed. They're really, really good. I've consumed a fair number of donuts in my day. I've had Boston cremes, cherry sticks, maple glazed donuts, sour cream glazed donuts, seasonal flavours they sometimes bring out, like pumpkin spice... What was I saying again? Oh yeah. I've eaten a lot of donuts. And these beet donuts (beetnuts?) are good. And beautiful! Beets, though they stink and don't taste so nice on their own, are an excellent natural food colourer. Beets are used to make red velvet cake red (or you can use a bottle of food dye, but I mean...) and I've used other vegetables in my baking before, like carrots and zucchinis, so why not beets?


Anyway, more about how good these donuts are. So good! You can sort of taste the beets, but it's subtle and mostly masked by the other ingredients. In a double-blind donut study, I don't think anyone would have a clue what's happening on their palates (beets are happening, suckers). 


As soon as I pulled them out of the oven, I disregarded the "let cool" portion of the instructions and shoved one in. And then another. And another. Yeah, I hat-tricked those beetnuts. They're just so good.

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Yield
12 donuts

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cupa all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 cup canned, chopped beets 
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. shortening

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C)
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and chili powder.
3. In a food processor or blender, purée the beets with the milk.
4. Add beet mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until smooth.
5. Stir in vanilla, eggs, and shortening. 
6. Lightly spray donut pan. Fill each mould 3/4 full.
7. Bake 8-11 minutes until they spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and glaze when cool.

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp. milk

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk until smooth. 
2. Dip the top of each donut in the glaze.

Hot Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

It's donut time again. This time, chocolate was the course of action. Chocolate is usually the course of action but unfortunately, I was out of chocolate. I wasn't going to take no chocolate as an excuse for not making chocolate donuts (and why should I?), so I decided to improvise. With hot chocolate mix. Sounds crazy and doomed for failure, but the end result was pretty tasty. Keep in mind, I used high quality, dark hot chocolate that's generally more bitter than sweet. I'm not sure how chocolate-y these would be if I'd used a pack of Carnation.

When it came time to frost them, it seemed clear that more chocolate was the answer, so I caved and venture into the world to buy chocolate chips. The world had sprinkles on sale that day, so I sprinkled up those donuts like no other. Mmmhmm. Enjoy!

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Yield
12 donuts


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup high-grade hot chocolate cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp. melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C)
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, hot chocolate cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. 
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix vigorously until smooth. 
5. Lightly spray donut pan. Fill each donut mould 3/4 full.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes until they spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and glaze when cool.

Chocolate Glaze

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a double boiler.
2. Stir until chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. 
3. Dip the top of each donut in the glaze. 
4. Sprinkles!

Cinnamon Vanilla Donuts with Coconut

This was my first attempt at making donuts. Finding a donut pan was a bit of a trick, which seemed strange to me. (Aren't donuts a national delicacy?) Even high-end restaurant supply stores don't carry them, and there aren't any speciality baking stores in the city that I know of. Just when I was about to surrender to eBay, I stumbled upon a stack of donut pans in a dusty kitchen supply-store in Chinatown. (Obviously. I mean, what can't you find in Chinatown?) So, long story short, I make donuts now. These Cinnamon Vanilla Donuts with Coconut are adapted from a recipe found here. They are soft, tasty, and just the right amount of chewy. Without further adieu, the recipe:

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Yield
12 donuts

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp. applesauce
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C) In a mixing bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and baking powder.
2. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, milk, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and applesauce, and cinnamon. Mix until smooth.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix vigorously until smooth. 
4. Lightly spray donut pan. Fill each donut mould 3/4 full. 
5. Bake 10-15 minutes until the donut tops are golden, or until they spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and glaze when cool.

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
2. Dip the top of each donut in the glaze.
3. Sprinkle with shredded coconut.