{baked valentine's donuts}

I recently received a donut pan as a gift and I knew it would be perfect for making up some Valentine's treats.  While I had intended on making the recipe from scratch, I ended up finding myself short on time this weekend and decided to seek out a recipe that utilized a boxed cake mix.  Even though they might not be as dense as a traditional cake donut,  these still have a great vanilla flavor with a light moist cake.  When I made mini baked donuts before (see that post here), I was not happy with how the icing turned out since it never really stiffened fully.  This time I picked up a bottle of pre-made dessert glaze.  I have never used a product like this before and I believe it is actually intended for bundt cakes so I wasn't sure about what I would end up with, but this worked perfectly and really made a difference in the amount of time I spent making these.

I think all in these took me about 30 minutes from start to finish which means they are great as a last minute Valentine's treat for your loved ones or even to bring into your office tomorrow morning.  Here is the recipe I followed:


Baked Vanilla Donuts

Makes: 18-20 3-inch Donuts

Ingredients

• Full box Vanilla Cake Mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 stick melted butter
• 1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease donut pan. Combine eggs, butter, and milk.  Add mix. Stir until smooth.  Pour batter into prepared doughnut pan- make sure to only fill up the donut cavities about a third full as this batter will rise quite a bit.  Bake for 13 to 14 minutes.

Next time around, I really want to try making these using a plain muffin mix and adding a savory topping like a orange glaze with chopped pistachios!