Baked donuts have been a great discovery.  They’re as good as those raised, glazed deep fried donuts with a whole lot less trouble and every bit as good.

We’ve served them in the store, occasionally, for several weeks and folks love them.

They’re filled donuts. I haven’t made them without filling but I suppose they are just as good.

And I can’t take credit for the idea.  I found the idea in an ethnic cookbook.  I think they had a Middle-Eastern origin.  The author didn’t call them donuts but they pass for what we call donuts.

The Concept

The concept is very simple: Use a donut dough to make dinner rolls then fill and frost them just as you would deep fried donuts.  My favorites are:

Donuts filled with Bavarian cream and Frosted with a Thick Layer of Fudgy Frosting.

• Yes, just like you would find in a donut shop. Simply melt the frosting and dip the top half of the donuts in the warm frosting.  In the picture, you’ll see that the frosting is running down the sides.  Erin, in our test kitchen, has taught me not to heat the frosting quite as much, dip the donuts to the half-way point, hold the donuts over the bowl until they quit dripping, and then put them on the rack to cool.   Once the frosting sets and is no longer messy, serve them.

Lemon Filled and Glazed Donuts

• These are really good. Fill them with lemon pastry filling and dip them in a powdered sugar glaze with a teaspoon of lemon flavor or vanilla extract added.  These are exactly what you would find in a donut shop—except baked.

Raspberry or Strawberry Filled and Glazed Donuts

• These are just like the lemon ones—just different fillings.

Notice that the chocolate ones are not glazed, just dipped in chocolate frosting.  What we haven’t tried yet is a thick maple frosting—but it’s on the list.

We’ve also brushed the warm donuts in butter and rolled them through sugar or sugar and cinnamon mixtures.  (The butter helps the sugar stick to the donuts.) They’re good but prefer the donut glaze.

There you have it.  Take these to a party and see what happens.

These are best served the same day they are baked—just like the donuts in the donut shop.

Directions

You will need a donut mix and bag of pastry filling, the kind that you clip the corner and press the filling into a donut or cupcake.  You can use a homemade filling or whipped cream as an alternative.

1. Mix the dough and let it rise according to package instructions.
2. Instead of cutting the dough into donut shapes, shape dough pieces into round pieces about 1½-inches in diameter just as you would dinner rolls.  Place them on a baking sheet spaced apart so that they have room to expand.  Cover the pan with a plastic sheeting or place the pan in a proofing bag.
3. Let the rolls rise until very puffy.  The dough is very elastic and will expand until more than doubled.  Be patient.  How fast they rise will depend on the room temperature.  If they start to blister, just poke the blisters with toothpick and get the pan in the oven.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for ten or eleven minutes or until the rolls are a golden brown.  When done, gently remove the rolls to a cooling rack.  The rolls will be very soft.
5. Gently take a paring knife a poke a slit in the side of each roll.  Snip a ¼-inch corner off the pastry filling bag.  Stick the open corner in your cut slits and squeeze filling into each roll.
6. Finish the donuts with frosting, a glaze, or cinnamon sugar.

Baker’s Notes

We sell donut mixes in two sizes: The Daily Dozen size which make 12 large donuts or 15 medium donuts and the large size which makes 36 large donuts.

See the smaller size.

See the large size donut mix.

We sell pastry fillings in two-pound dispenser packs. Two pounds is a lot of filling.  Figure that for about six dozen donuts depending on how full you fill them.  That means you’re going to have some left over.  Fold the open end over, put a paper clip on it, and store the unused portion for up to six months in the refrigerator.

See the pastry fillings here.

Let them rise. In our air-conditioned test kitchen, it takes forever for bread to rise.  Often, we hurry it along by placing the dough in a warm spot.  If we are really in a hurry, we’ll put the dough in the front seat of the car.  (But be careful; if it’s warm outside, the dough will overheat quickly.) At home, I often put dough on top of the refrigerator.