Baked brownie doughnuts

As I was pondering what I was going to bake for tomorrow (going to a concert and wanted to bring baked goods for everyone), my friend helpfully informed me that it was National Doughnut Day on Friday. Apparently it's been held on the first Friday in June ever since 1938!

For most people, that means running out to the nearest doughnut shop for free giveaways, but for me, it means that I've found the perfect inspiration for my next baking project.

(Side note: is it doughnut or donut? Spell check keeps telling me that "donut" is spelled wrong.)

I settled on a double chocolate doughnut recipe to celebrate this holiday - chocolate doughnut with chocolate glaze (and sprinkles). As usual, I baked them instead of frying them and these came out a lot more dense than I expected. Biting into one reminded me of a brownie. I promptly decided to call these brownie doughnuts.

As I was typing up the recipe, I realized why my doughnuts came out dense - in my tired, travel-weary mind (I flew back from MN today), I used baking powder instead of baking soda, which meant the baking soda-buttermilk reaction didn't happen to puff the doughnut up. So, a mistake, but a happy mistake - brownies are my favorite dessert ever and having them in sprinkled-covered doughnut form is even better!

Nothing much more to say, except Happy National Doughnut Day, everyone! Blog posting will get back to normal (Monday nights), with the occasional weekend update. :)

Baked brownie donuts (makes ~9-10 doughnuts)
(Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking)

• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (22 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup (100 g) dark brown sugar
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325F and grease a doughnut pan. 
2. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. 
3. Mix buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla together in a separate bowl until combined. 
4. Add the wet to the dry mixture and fold until completely combined. 
5. Fill each well of the doughnut pan about 2/3 full. 
6. Bake for 12 minutes or until an inserted fork comes out clean. 
7. Let cool and then top with glaze and sprinkles (recipe below). 

Chocolate glaze

(Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking)

• 5/8 cup (75 g) powdered sugar
• 1½ Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• A pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp of milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Consistency should be thick, but still can flow. Adjust with more milk and/or powdered sugar, if necessary. 
2. Dip tops of doughnuts in glaze and top with sprinkles. 
3. Enjoy!