King Cake Baked Doughnuts
Traditional Mardi Gras King Cake turned into fun and delicious bite sized baked doughnuts!
Servings: 18
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- 1/2 cup milk heated to 115 degrees
- 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour plus more for kneading
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
Vanilla Bourbon Glaze
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 4 ounces low fat cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon bourbon or milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- purple, yellow, and green sprinkles for topping
Instructions
Doughnuts
- Heat the milk to 115° F. then add in the yeast and whisk it until it has dissolved. Add in the sugar and let them sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the yeast mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the egg and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until they are combined.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flours, salt, and cinnamon.
- With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture a 1/4 cup at a time until the dough starts to come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl. When the dough starts to come together, stop the mixer, remove the paddle attachment, and put on the dough hook.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium and add in the butter a tablespoon at a time until it is incorporated into the dough. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add additional flour to the dough a tablespoon at a time if needed. The dough should be soft, but not overly sticky.
- Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until it is no longer sticky. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough into the bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Let the dough raise in a warm dry spot for an hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down with your fist. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 1/2 an inch thick. Using a 3 1/2 inch doughnut cutter or a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out the doughnuts and lay them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- Cover the doughnuts with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let them rise a second time for about 20 minutes or until doubled in size.
- While the doughnuts are rising preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Place the doughnuts on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes. Transfer the doughnuts to a wire cooling rack and let them cool for 20-30 minutes before dipping them in the glaze.
Vanilla Bourbon Glaze
- In a medium sized bowl add all of the ingredients for the glaze. Whisk them together until they are smooth.
- Dunk the top half of the cooled doughnuts into the glaze then place them back on the cooling rack. Immediately top the doughnuts with the sprinkles, then let them set for a few minutes so that the glaze hardens.
Notes
The doughnuts are best eaten right away. They tend to dry out by the next day.
Nutrition
Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g