Baked Buttermilk Donuts with Blueberry Glaze

Confession time again...I am one of those crazy people that has a donut pan.  I love random kitchen tools and special pans.  Despite the small size of my kitchen here in the city, I have practically every kitchen tool you could ever need, and several you probably wouldn't need.  When some of my family was here over Thanksgiving, it became a game of sorts for my sister-in-law to ask for random items and see if she could find something I didn't have (she never did).  One thing I did not have until recently was donut pans, but Christmas took care of that and I have been loving using them already.  Of course it is no fried donut, but these sweet little treats are still light and fluffy (not as heavy as your typical cake donut) and you can feel at least a little better about eating 3 or 4 of them since they weren't immersed in oil during cooking...not that there's anything wrong with that.

Baked Buttermilk Donuts with Blueberry Glaze

Number of Servings: 12 donuts
Time to Prepare: 30 minutes

• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp warm water (110 degrees)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (at room temperature or slightly warmed)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, thawed (or fresh if available)
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 425°F and spray two 6 cavity donut pans with nonstick spray.

Combine yeast and warm water in a small bowl and stir to combine.  Let sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy.

Combine sugar, cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and yeast mixture. Stir well to combine.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add liquid mixture and stir just until combined.

Pour batter into a gallon Ziploc bag (I like to use a small mixing bowl or a large liquid measuring cup with the bag placed inside and the top flipped over the edges of the bowl so it stays standing up while I pour the batter in).  Snip a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter evenly into the pans.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched.  Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the glaze, blend the blueberries in a food processor until smooth.  In a small bowl, combine the blueberries, 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, and milk in a medium-size bowl. Stir well until all powdered sugar is incorporated. Add more powdered sugar as needed until the mixture is a thick glaze.

Dip doughnut tops into glaze and place on a wire cooling rack until glaze is set.

Source: slightly adapted from The Cafe Sucre Farine
Produce Used: Blueberries