food: baked cake donuts from scratch

We love donuts in our house. I purchased a donut pan awhile ago and we like to make these baked donuts often. A little intense to make, but well worth it :) We like to ice and sprinkle some, and melt butter and dip in a cinnamon sugar mixture for the others.

Baked Cake Donuts - adapted from Wilton's Recipe
Makes about 12 donuts
2 cups minus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. corn starch
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
2-1/2 tsp. lemon juice (or white distilled vinegar)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a donut pan with non-stick cooking spray, or use a little bit of butter to coat each donut form.

Combine milk and lemon juice (or vinegar) in a measuring cup. Set aside for 2-3 minutes.

Sift the flour and corn starch together (through a sifter or mesh colander) 2-3 times to incorporate fully (basically you're making cake flour ;)). Add sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt, stirring to combine.

Add eggs and melted butter to milk mixture. Add to flour mixture. Beat until just combined (do not over-beat).

Fill each donut cavity about 2/3 full. I usually put the batter in a large zip-loc bag and snip one of the tips to pipe it into the pan easily.

Bake for 7-9 minutes or until just starting to brown. They can brown way too fast, so keep an eye on them! They will be spongy to the touch (but don't burn yourself ;)).

Pop each donut out onto a cooling rack, spray (or use butter) pan again and pipe in the rest of the batter (be careful not to burn yourself on the pan!). See below for topping ideas. Serve warm. Enjoy :)

For topping:
Cinnamon Sugar
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Place melted butter in shallow dish. Mix together cinnamon and sugar and place in another shallow dish. Dip each donut in the butter and coat both sides, then dredge in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Vanilla Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 Tbsp. milk

Mix sugar and vanilla together. Add milk a little at a time to desired consistency. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl. Dip tops of donuts in icing, place on a plate and let set for a couple minutes.