Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Time to Make Doughnuts - Apple Cider Donuts


Tartelette and Peabody are hosting a blogging event called Time to Make Doughnuts. To participate, it's simple - make any type of sweet donuts and post about it on or before February 12.

I decided to enter this at the last minute, and raced up to Kitch'n'Stuff in my lunch hour to buy one of the mini donut pans that had been there forever. But egads! There had been a recent rush on mini donut pans (maybe fellow Melburnians also entering this event?), so I had to use my mini bundt pan instead.

My next challenge was that I had chosen to make a yummy sounding apple cider donut recipe that I found at Milk and Cookies. (Jen-Jen believes that they rival Krispy Kremes - so how could I resist!) The recipe called for apple puree. There is no supermarket on my way home, but I thought that I could pick up either apple sauce, pie apple or an apple (or even tinned pears!) from one of the three corner shops that I pass to make my own puree/puree substitute. But no - foiled once again! If I had wanted tinned jackfruit, there were unbelievably three different brands in one shop, but no apple products of any variety. However, necessity being the mother of invention, and being determined not to go all the way to the supermarket, I decided to substitute the apple puree for some stewed rhubarb from the freezer, thawed and blended to make a puree. Hey, rhubarb and apple go together, yeah?

I am kind of scared of deep frying (I have a fear of being attacked by hot oil), so these donuts, being baked, were just what the doctor ordered.

The recipe for these apple cider donuts can be found here. The substitutions that I made were: 1/2 cup rhubarb puree substituted for the apple puree, canola oil substituted for the hazelnut oil and 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in place of cinnamon and nutmeg.

These donuts are cakier in texture than your standard fried donut, but they still had that bready donut flavour. They also appealed to me because they are considerably lower in fat than your standard fried donut. The rhubarb substitution didn't seem to affect either the appeance or taste of the finished product. Overall, this recipe was a winner (even though I am not a big donut fan).

Thanks to Tartelette and Peabody for hosting this event! If you want ideas for some really delicious and very different types of donuts, be inspired by checking out the roundup here, here and here.

21 comments:

  1. i love donuts!! i can eat as much as a dozen non-stop. but the truth is i havent tried making one. i wanted to join this event but not enough courage :-) your apple cider donuts sounds good..really delicious entry you've got here

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  2. Thanks Dhanggit. I have never made donuts before either - but baking them is a less threatening introduction than facing the deep fryer!

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  3. Never seen doughnuts like these before and think they look cute.
    You never know what you can come up with till you try.

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  4. In OZ, can one be litigated for making such 'dang tasty treats?

    If so, see you in court!

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  5. These look perfect! Great job!

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  6. I SO adore donuts!! When we visit the seaside you can find me with my nose pressed up to the counter watching them fry them dipped in sugar lol

    Yours look a real treat I have to say and I have also never made them either - shame on me! Apple cider combo sounds perfect - yum

    Rosie x

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  7. Oh my goodness-they look like fried donuts, so golden and crispy (and delicious) looking! They look wonderful.

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  8. I have never tried apple cider doughnuts, but now I really want to try them!

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  9. Hi Aparna. I had never heard of apple cider donuts before either,and I had intended to make more traditional baked donuts, but a random search pulled up this recipe and I was hooked.

    Hi Peter - I hope not, but if you can, I figure I can charm my way out of trouble with my baking!

    Thanks for dropping by Chelley and for your kind comment.

    Hi Rosie, the apple cider flavour is good - and even better, you can drink the leftovers ;)

    Thanks Cakespy - I agreed with Jen-Jen that they at least look like Krispy Kremes original glazed donuts.

    Hi Deborah - I can recommend these - they are light and airy without greasy aftertaste. Maybe the bubbles from the cider help?

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  10. Your donuts look beautiful. I've been dreading the roundup because I know I will want to try them all and really that's just a little too much deep frying. Thank you for posting a yummy looking baked donut! And I secretly love rhubarb!

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  11. Your donuts are fantastic! I also don't like fried donuts much and much prefer the cakie baked ones. I love the shape they came out in, now I want a little bundt pan too!

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  12. They look wonderful! Love the idea of apple cider in donuts. Very creative with the rhubarb too! Thanks for participating!

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  13. They look so pretty, and I really like your substitutions!

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  14. Wonderful-looking doughnuts!

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  15. I love the shape of these. Really breaks up the old traditional boring donut shape. Awesome use of flavors too.

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  16. Thanks Mary! I adore custard filled donuts from a Vietnamese bakeshop in Prahran - they are addictive. Rhubarb is great, isn't it?

    Thanks Angel. My mini bundt pan is new and this was its first outing - I highly recommend getting one 'cause they make such cute cakes!

    Thanks Helen - and once again, thanks to you and Peabody for hosting this event.

    Hi Madam Chow - thanks! My substitutions are usually out of necessity or laziness, and you never know how it's going to go - but these turned out fine.

    Thanks Ann!

    Hi Cheryl - thanks. I liked the swirly shape too - maybe it was a good thing not to get that donut pan.

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  17. How much fun are these!?! What an adventure to get the job done but you did a beautiful job! I love the rhubarb! Very creative!

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  18. Creative doughnut, they look lovely.

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  19. Thanks Gretchen - I would make these again.

    Thanks for taking a look at my donuts, Linda.

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  20. Realmente espectacular estos donuts, de manzanas mmmmmmm las amo!! Muchas gracias por visitar mi blog. Besos maBel

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  21. Hi Lacocinadeile - thank you to you too for visiting me!

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Thanks for dropping by!