Bake-and-Shake Cake Donuts

Was hunting for a healthier version of the greasy-but-good donut this morning.  Hunted around Google and Pinterest for a while, and finally decided to make my own recipe since I couldn't find exactly what I wanted.  I found most of my inspiration here, but I wanted to make a few changes both for texture and nutrition.  Adventures in baking are always risky, because you never know if your adaptation will turn into something edible or a tasty treat for the dog.

Happy to say that I was so pleased with how these donuts turned out, I thought them blog-worthy.  These are definitely the best homemade donuts I've ever had, and I'd chose them over a donut shop cake donut any day.  The texture somewhat resembles a fluffy cupcake but the flavor is very similar to what you'd get at your favorite local donut shop, except a lot fresher and with better-for-you ingredients.
While I don't know that you could ever call any donut "healthy," these are certainly health-ier than most, but they don't taste "healthy," if you know what I mean.  If someone served me these for breakfast, I'd probably feel guilty for having a second one because I'd assume something this good couldn't be good for me.
But between the wheat flour, egg-beaters, non-fat buttermilk, sugar-free syrup, and coconut oil, they're fairly nutritious.  Decent amount of protein and healthy fats.  You could made them completely sugar-free if you skip the coating (but shaking that bag around is half the fun and great for little helping hands)!  Here's how I home-maid them:

Donuts:

·      ½ cup whole wheat flour

·      ½ cup all-purpose flour

·      3 tsp baking powder

·      ¼ tsp nutmeg (this is what gives them that authentic "donut" flavor, so don't skip it or you'll have more of a donut-shaped cupcake than a cake donut!)

·      ¼ cup Egg-Beaters

·      ½ cup + 2 Tbs buttermilk (I used non-fat)

·      ¼ cup sugar-free syrup

·      1 tsp vanilla

·      4 Tbs coconut oil, melted

Coating:

·    1  ½ cup powdered sugar

·    1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray donut pan with a non-stick spray (I used Baker’s Joy), and set aside.

Combine donut dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  Make a well in the center, and add donut wet ingredients.  Wisk together with a fork until just combined. (Batter is still a bit lumpy at this point, but fear not...they're still going to be A-MAZING!)  

Add dough to donut pan.  Here's a simple method that I used: Scoop dough into a quart-size ziplock bag, and sqeeze all the air out.  Seal the bag and clip a small hole in one corner to pipe dough into donut pan. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this step!)

Fill donut pan molds about 2/3 full. (This recipe filled my 6-donut pan, and I had some left-over dough that I poured into a ramekin and baked for 18 minutes until set.)

Bake for 12 minutes or until set.  While donuts are baking, prepare coating by sifting ingredients into a gallon-sized ziplock bag and set aside.  When donuts are set, immediately turn them out onto a cooling rack. 

While donuts are still warm, add 2-3 donuts at a time to shaking bag, and toss to coat.  Remove from bag back to cooling rack.  Enjoy the same day, or you can freeze them up to a month (if you have any leftovers)!  

I haven't tried to freeze a coated donut before, but I assume the coating would get soggy as it defrosts.  But then again, it might become like a glaze....might have to experiment with that (if I can hold on to some of the leftovers long enough)!  Hope you enjoy these Bake-and-Shake Donuts as much as I did!