Chocolate Doughnuts

A few weeks ago I blogged about my first experience with my mini bundt pan. If you missed that post, all you really need to know is that it was a disaster. Fortunately, my friend Hanaa was kind enough to leave a comment on that post pointing me in the direction of the book The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread, which contains quite a few recipes that utilize the mini bundt pan! I was excited for the chance to redeem myself. I was especially excited that one of the recipes was for chocolate doughnuts! It was a no-brainer that I'd try that recipe first. I don't eat doughnuts often but they are definitely one of my weaknesses. I love them.


This recipe is fairly simple so I'll just note a few things. I didn't bother coating the mini bundts with superfine sugar and my doughnuts released without a problem. I also didn't grate my chocolate - I just chopped it finely. As a result, it really didn't melt fully when I added the hot water. In the end, it doesn't seem to have mattered as the pieces were small enough to finish melting in the oven as they baked. I am pleased to report that this mini bundt experience was much better than my first one. These doughnuts are really fantastic - so unbelievably moist and tender! Frankly, I was just happy that the batter didn't spill all over my oven - the fact that they also tasted wonderful was just icing on the cake!

As a quick aside, I've fallen behind a bit in my commenting so if I haven't visited your site to comment in a few days, I apologize. Tomorrow will be busy but I hope to get caught up on Monday!

Chocolate Doughnuts
from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/8 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate, grated
3/4 cup very hot water
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 2 mini bundt pans (each with a 6-cup capacity) with nonstick spray and coat with superfine sugar, if available; otherwise, use regular granulated sugar.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a second medium bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder and grated chocolate. Pour in the water and whisk until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate has melted completely. Add the butter, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and stir until moistened. Distribute the batter evenly among the 12 prepared mini bundt pans. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center of a doughnut comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn the doughnuts out onto a rack to cool.