Chocolate Nutmeg Donuts

A donut for dessert? Why not?

I wonder who decided which treats went with, or after, which meals. What makes a donut, croissant, or coffee cake more appropriate for breakfast than dessert, and a cupcake, or a slice of pie, more appropriate for dessert than breakfast? Not that I’m advocating eating cupcakes for breakfast…although if the truth be told, I did have more than one breakfast of Little Debbie’s Swiss Cake Rolls in college.

Tonight, I wanted a chocolate donut for dessert, and not the kind you get at a chain. I wanted a cakey, tender, lightly glazed creation of chocolate and the slightest hint of spice. Nutmeg is a key ingredient in achieving that bakery donut flavor; without nutmeg, these donuts would taste more like chocolate cake than chocolate donuts.

The serving of Cool Whip in the photo here is optional, of course…but this was my dessert tonight. And it was delicious.

Ingredients

For the donuts:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sour milk (see note below)
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 teaspoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 6-well donut pan with baking spray.

Make sour milk; place 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to equal 1/2 cup, then stir and let stand for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.

In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, sour milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla; stir until smooth, then add all at once to flour mixture. Stir until just combined and no dry streaks or large lumps remain.

Fill a piping bag or large zip-top bag with batter; pipe into wells, filling about 3/4 full.

Bake for 13-15 minutes; remove from oven and immediately remove donuts from wells. Cool on a wire rack before glazing.

To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar and milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, mixing until completely smooth. Add vanilla and stir well; you want a very thin glaze. Dip tops of donuts in glaze and allow to set before serving.

If you like, top donuts with a spoonful of whipped cream or other whipped topping just before serving.