Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

I'm literally obsessed with donuts. OBSESSED! I love the soft, chewy goodness of a perfect doughnut and I'm always looking for the chance to try a new doughnut place. Lucky for me (well I'm not too sure if it's lucky if I start going there every other evening) there is a place called California Donuts that is literally 2 blocks walking distance from my house AND open 24/7 - help me Lord. I had no idea it was so popular, but apparently on any given day, the line can be wrapped around the block. The other night, I had a terrible craving, so I took myself over there and picked up some of this yummy goodness. They make really cool designs and themes, so be sure you check it out! 

This brought on a crazy doughnut binge, which inspired me to bake (yes, bake!!) my own last night. I picked up a nice bottle of wine, turned on the Erykah Badu and got into my zone. I got this recipe from Baker Bettie and loved the simplicity of it and how light and fluffy the doughnuts turned out, almost like a cake. My favorite part about these is that they are BAKED, and not fried... no oil involved which makes them at least a little, tiny bit healthier than the other versions out there. I opted for a cinnamon sugar topping mainly because I'm not a big chocolate person. But, I can picture these dipped in a nice milk chocolate, topped with strawberry compote and whipped cream or dusted in powdered sugar. 

These are perfect alongside coffee for breakfast or for an afternoon treat on one of these chilly LA afternoons when the temp drops from 75 to 70 -- haha. No really, try them out and enjoy with friends and fam. They are best when eaten directly after baking.

DISCLAIMER: I will not be responsible or liable for any weight gained if you eat the whole batch :)

Baked Mini Doughnuts

For the donuts: 

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch salt

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For the topping:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Doughnut directions: Preheat oven to 325ºF. Lightly oil mini donut pan and set aside (alternatively you can use mini muffin pans). In a medium bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add in the baking powder and the salt and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the flour just until combined. You don't want to overmix this batter. If using mini donut pan, transfer mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip or into a ziplock baggie with the tip cut off. Pipe into the pan only filling ½ of the way fill. If using the mini muffin pan, fill each well ½ full. Bake at 325ºF for 8-10 minutes. *If using a mini donut maker, bake for 4-5 minutes. Allow to cool just slightly before dipping in topping.

Topping directions: Melt the butter for the topping and combine the cinnamon and sugar. Dip each donut lightly in butter then roll in cinnamon and sugar.

*I used a mini muffin pan because I was eager to make this recipe and did not have time to purchase a doughnut pan first. However, I wanted them to also have holes like doughnuts, so I got creative and used a straw to punch holes through each. I wanted until about 5 minutes after I removed them from the oven and did this and it worked just fine :)

Strawberry Shortcake!

I hope you had an amazing Saint Valentine's Day! 

One thing I love about the day is the love that is passed around, from person to person and most importantly, SELF! I wanted to do something special and also wanted to incorporate something that makes me happy so of course I baked! Baking is seriously my therapy and anything that allows me to use my mixer is a WIN!

Strawberry Shortcake was the perfect dessert and of course I had to make the cake into a heart shape. What I loved most about it was that it didn't take very long at all and the cake isn't heavy, it's very light, airy and just sweet enough! Another thing I love is that you can add whatever toppings you like and could probably remove the sugar from the breading for a perfect dinner biscuit. I'll try it and let you know how it goes! :) 

Just a little note, one thing I did have issues with while shopping for the ingredients was the difference between "whippng cream" and "heavy whipping cream" - what I came to find was that the whipping cream you use should at least be 30% milk fat, in order to whip up and become fluffy the way you will need. You can find them in the refrigerated section near the milk and coffee creamer. Stay away from half and half.

Check out the strawberry shortcake recipe below and try it ASAP! I would love to see pictures of how it came out with the hashtag #ArtsEats. 

xoxo, Happy Baking!

Valentine's Strawberry Shortcake

For the cake:

1 lb. strawberries, stemmed and sliced horizontally

5 tablespoons sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

For the whipped cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

*(for an additional taste, add 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest to your whipped cream mix, not required)

Cake directions:

Mix together the strawberries with 3 tablespoons of the sugar and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add heavy whipping cream and mix together until just combined. Scoop mixture in an ungreased 8-9 inch square pan and bake 18-20 minutes, until just golden. 

Remove shortcake from pan and place on rack to cool. Cut around using sharp knife to create heart shape. Remove excess cake from perimeter and set aside. Split cake horizontally. 

Spoon layer of whipped cream, then layer of strawberries. Add another layer of cream to top and place top cake layer on top of cake. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then spoon some strawberries with their juices to top and serve.

Whipped Cream directions:

Using a mixer on medium to high speedbeat the heavy whipping cream, sugar, vanilla and *lemon zest (optional) until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.

Root Veggies

A few months back I signed up for an awesome service - Farm Fresh to You. As often as I like, I receive a box of fresh goodies at my home or office with a fun variety of locally grown, organic fruits and veggies. The box includes a wide arrangement of seasonal stuff that you can even customize to remove what you aren't so fond of or add what you can't get enough of! When I get my box it's seriously like Christmas because I love having to get creative with my meals for the week by including what I got in my box. It definitely helps keep my recipes interesting and healthy! Plus, I love that I'm getting organic items, DELIVERED to me for a fraction of what I would pay to get them myself in the grocery store :)

This week my box included 2 of my favorite root veggies, squash and beets. I received enough that I can make 2 different types of recipes with them, but for the first decided to just keep it simple! I chopped and roasted my veggies and almost devoured them instantly! LOL. I had just enough left for lunch today. Peek below to see the easy and simple recipe. 

Roasted Butternut Squash & Beets

2 medium beets

1 medium sized butternut squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

Freshly ground sea salt

Cayenne pepper

1 lemon or lime

Cut stems and tail off of beets. Rinse, chop into thin slices and set aside. Cut each end off of squash. Using a vegetable peeler, peel skin off of squash. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Toss veggies together in a large bowl with olive oil. Season to taste and squeeze half of lemon or lime over top. Put top on bowl and shake well. Arrange on a pan in a thin layer so that they can cook evenly. Bake in oven for about 30-45 minutes, until soft to your liking. Eat as a side dish with your meal, alone or over a salad! 

How do you prefer your root veggies? Sauteed? Roasted? Raw? So many options!