This is also the very first baked doughnut recipe on the blog. 99% of the time, we make fried doughnuts, oh the crispy outside and the fluffy inside. These baked doughnuts, on the other hand, are a completely different story. These doughnuts have more of a cakey texture. Yes, they are soft and have a beautiful, spongey interior, but the fried ones are airier, and the outside is crispy, here, not so much. Here the outside is cakey, more muffin-like.
On the plus side, that spongey, cakey outside makes these cuties perfectly perfect for glazing. I am, of course, talking about the chocolate glaze. The glaze not only adds that beautiful shine, but it makes them ideal for holidays and celebrations as well. We first experimented with dark chocolate but quickly realized that dark chocolate is a bit overwhelming for chestnuts in this case. So we decided to go for two options: white chocolate glaze and milk chocolate glaze.
Now we have our chestnut doughnuts beautifully glazed, hooray! So happy with how they look. They are super pretty just like that. Shiny, chocolatey, simple. Or, you can go all out and add your touch. If you are in the Halloween spirit, adding some of those cute little sugary eyes would be so cute, or even drawing a black spider web over the white chocolate glaze. We kept it minimalistic and added a delicious homemade topping: Caramelized chestnuts. It's melted, hot maple syrup combined with chopped cooked chestnuts.
Honestly, these doughnuts are ridiculously easy to make. You mix everything, bake, let them cool, dip them in glaze and then if you want you can decorate them or just leave them as they are, simple and shiny. Either way, they will be delicious. It doesn't get easier, plus they are made in 30 minutes, how great is that. No excuses you guys, these should be on your bake list.
METHOD
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Chestnut purée
First, prepare the Chestnut purée. In a blender, mix cooked chestnuts and whipping cream. If necessary, if the consistency isn't smooth, you can add up to 4 tbsp of water to the mixture. Also, you can use store-bought chestnut purée, but homemade is always better since you can control the taste and texture.
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Mix the eggs and sugar
Mix eggs, canola oil, light brown sugar, and vanilla essence in a large bowl using a hand-held mixer. Mix until the mixture is pale and airy for about a minute. Then add homemade chestnut purée and mix until well combined. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350 °F.
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Dry ingredients
In a separate bowl, stir to combine flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Add the dry ingredients to the chestnut mixture and mix to combine. Make sure not to overwork the batter.
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Pipe the doughnuts and bake
Spray a doughnut baking tin with oil (or use butter). Fill a piping bag with chestnut doughnut batter. Cut the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into a prepared baking tin. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes at 180°C / 355 °F. This doughnut recipe makes 12 doughnuts, and since we only have one baking tin, we bake in batches (2 x 6 doughnuts).
TipIf you don't have a piping bag at home, you can use a regular freezer bag. Cut one corner of the bag and you will have the same functionality. -
Remove from the oven and prepare caramelized chestnuts topping
Remove the baking tin from the oven. While the doughnuts are still hot, remove them from the baking tin, transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, prepare the caramelized chestnut topping (optional). Place a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the maple syrup and chopped cooked chestnuts. Bring to a boil and cook for approx. Five minutes or until the maple syrup completely covers the cooked chestnuts and is thick in texture. Remove from the heat, transfer the caramelized chestnut topping to parchment paper, and let cool for about 10 minutes.
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Make the chocolate glaze and serve
Melt milk chocolate and white chocolate separately in two bowls. Add the vegetable oil to each bowl and stir to combine. The chocolate should be silky, shiny, and smooth. Once the doughnuts have cooled, invert the doughnut into the chocolate glaze and let the excess drip off. Optionally, sprinkle with caramelized chestnuts topping. Enjoy.
