Joshie's Perfect Doughnuts

I have the huge honor of guest posting on a favorite blog today:  Mystery Lovers Kitchen (http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/). I was asked by Julie Hyzy - who has a new series out starting 6/6 with Grace Under Pressure. Julie is a wonderful author, mentor and friend. I am lucky to know her. Truly - several wonderful authors are on that blog, including Cleo Coyle. If you are looking for some great new food mysteries - go read all the ones from the authors on the blog! I wrote about a mysterious recipe I found in a box of handwritten recipes from an antique mall...

It's Sunday in the summer - and my 7 year old and I were up baking this morning. The 2 year old was helping. We got out the baked doughnut pan again. This time, we did another recipe included with the pan:  Chocolate Cake Donuts. Josh renamed them:

Joshie's Perfect Donuts
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 milk
2 tbsp butter, melted
Preheat oven to 325F.
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  In separate bowl mix eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick. Combine milk and butter. Alternately combine egg mixture and milk mixture with flour mixture and mix until smooth and soft. Spray pan lightly with cooking oil.  Fill with batter 2/3 full.  Bake 8 minutes. Cool. Carefully remove. (I turned the pan upside down and all dropped nicely onto the plate.) Repeat with rest of batter. Frost or glaze.

Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. HOT water
Now - I did this over the hot donuts, as my family wanted to eat them right away, and got some lumps, runny glaze. Still tasted wonderful. If you are putting them over hot donuts, though, use a little less water, or a little more confectioners' sugar, or make the glaze right when you stick the donuts in the oven, so it can thicken a little.

Josh liked the glazed and unglazed equally. This only makes 6 donuts, but they are very rich. I was full with one.

Here's the link to the pan again - very inexpensive, and lots of fun to bake with:
Norpro 6-Count Nonstick Donut Pan