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Salted Caramel Donuts

November 27, 2012

What’s better than waking up to coffee and donuts?  HOMEMADE donuts!  These salted caramel donuts combine some of the holiday’s go-to flavors like chocolate and caramel, but they’re also sweet and salty.  They almost remind me of Starbuck’s salted caramel cake pops…

These are not that difficult to make, but they do take a long time – especially if you have one donut pan.  I was craving a donut so I went out to HomeGoods and bought a $5 mini donut pan.

Salted Caramel Donuts

Donuts:

  • 2 cups flour (original recipe called for cake flour)
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • ¾ cup PLUS 2tbsp milk
  • 3 tbsp butter

Directions:

  1. We were cursed with a horrible oven.  Heating to 425 degrees will take forever, so it’s best to do this now!
  2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and then mix in sour cream, eggs, vanilla, milk and melted butter.  The key is to get these really mixed together.
  3. Spray doughnut pan with non-stick spray (or grease).  Fill each cup with ¼-1/3 cup doughnut batter.  Make sure to not add any more than that.  I over did some of my donuts and they became popover-like donuts.
  4. Bake in oven for 9 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Caramel Icing:

  • 2 cup Brown Sugar
  • ½ cup + 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
  • 3 Tbsp Butter
  • 2 tsp Vanilla
  • 3 Tbsp Course Sea Salt for Topping – I used a pink sea salt we bought a while back to make our steak pizza.  It had a tropical flare and gave the donut a nice punch of saltiness.

Directions:

  1. In a pot, combine all ingredients except sea salt.
  2. Heat over medium-high heat stirring and whisking ingredients together until mixture melts and becomes smooth as glaze. Remove from heat.
  3. Gently invert cooled doughnuts and dip into hot caramel. BE CAREFUL, the caramel is HOT. Dip doughnuts into caramel, turn right side up and allow to cool on a wire rack – I waited until the caramel started to cool before coating my donuts because they covered the donuts with a thicker coat.  However, don’t wait too long because the caramel mixture will harden right up.  (I had to reheat the pot before dunking again).
  4. Sprinkle with pink seas salt.
  5. Enjoy responsibly.

Our Donut Cookie Jar…

 

Adapted this recipe from Country Cleaver.

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