Baking Advent Calendar day 19

We’re into the homeward straight now as my Baking Advent Calendar reaches day 19. Today I’m sharing something a little different as we’re having baked berry doughnuts. I suppose that technically I should be calling these doughnut cakes, but as there’s no deep fat fryer in my kitchen  they’re just doughnuts to me.

Doughnuts always conjure up memories of childhood trips to the seaside or fairgrounds. There were always stalls selling these hot, sugar coated treats and equally there was always lots of cajoling of parents to be done before you had any chance of sampling some. 

I’d never thought about baking then at home until I came across a copy Rosie Reynolds book Doughnuts- A Classic Reinvented This book does contain recipes for the more traditional fried versions but it was the sections on baked doughnuts that got me attention. All I needed was a doughnut ring baking tin and I was started.

This recipe makes six. 

Ingredients

• 85g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 50g ground almonds
• 2tsp freeze dried berries
• 75g caster sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2tbsp sunflower oil
• 50g raspberries – mashed with a fork
• 18 small blueberries

For the topping

• 50g raspberries mashed with a fork
• 50g melted white chocolate

Method

• Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease the doughnut tin.
• Put the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, freeze dried berries and sugar into a bowl and mix. Put the egg, oil, yoghurt and mashed raspberries into another bowl and mix. Tip the wet mix into the dry and beat until smooth.
• Put two teaspoons of the mixture into each ring on your doughnut tin. Place three blueberries into each ring and push then just below the surface of the mixture.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• For the topping push the mashed raspberries through a sieve. Discard the seeds and add a little sugar if you would like the juice sweetened. Drizzle the juice over the doughnuts along with the melted  white chocolate.