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You might think that these cute mini Color Donuts are all looks and no substance, but you’d be oh so very wrong. They may lack glaze or frosting, but there’s an irresistible quality to these treats that keeps you reaching for another.
One dozen? Maybe.
Color Donuts Baked Not Fried
You might not remember, but we have actually made doughnuts before. Although unlike these rainbow cuties, they needed two things that make for a more difficult baking challenge – yeast and hot oil. Whilst there is no substitute for a proper fried doughnut, sometimes you just want something a little easier to throw together, with a lot less waiting around and absolutely no chance of burning yourself on boiling oil.
Baked doughnuts are a whole different ballgame to their fried counterparts, and as long as you’re prepared for that, then you won’t be disappointed.
What to expect and how to enjoy them?
Don’t go expecting that light, fluffy texture you’re only going to get from a yeasty dough when you’re essentially making a cupcake in ring form. Baked doughnuts are a denser and less crispy treat, yet they still manage to have freshly baked doughnut taste to them.
And that’s all thanks to a little pinch of grated nutmeg in the batter.
Mini colored donuts; fast and light.
Well, the short baking time and light batter in these mini doughnuts are the perfect recipe for the brightest baked goods imaginable! You can use any gel or paste food coloring you have to hand – although I bought this set of Wilton food colors a while back, and they’ve been working wonders ever since.
Why so small?
I originally wanted to make full-size rainbow doughnuts, but as luck would have it I couldn’t find my big doughnut pan in the mess that is our under-the-stairs cupboard and I had to use the mini pan instead. I’m sure you’ll agree that the resulting mini rainbow doughnuts are so much more adorbs than their bigger cousins would have been.
Mini Rainbow Doughnuts: Perfect for Snacking
I think cute and mini is the way to go through – I’m such a sucker for small versions of things. And I weirdly think these mini rainbow donuts would look incredible as toppers on some vanilla cupcakes! Am I crazy?
Or maybe, they’d be the perfect pair to serve alongside a mojito cupcake recipe for a colorful and fun dessert spread.
Achieving Vivid Colours in Your Color Donuts
The only real concerns I had going into this rainbow doughnut experiment were whether the colours would run together, or whether they wouldn’t come out anywhere near bright enough. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had so many instances in my baking life where I’ve put something bright and colourful in the oven, and 20 minutes later I’ve removed an underwhelming brown cake from the oven. Sound familiar?
I genuinely couldn’t stop eating these little doughnuts, and as soon as I’d finished photographing them they were long gone. Katie will testify to this – she only managed to get her hands on one or two before I’d demolished them all. I’m definitely planning on making another batch as soon as possible – maybe mermaid or galaxy coloured this time?
If you want to make them full-size, then you can absolutely do so – just add a few more minutes to the baking time. You’re only going to get six or eight large doughnuts out of the recipe below, but it can easily be doubled if you’re looking to make enough to last you more than a few hours.
And if you make a batch, whatever colour they are, then please let me know how you get on in the comments below!
Color Donuts Baked
Color Donuts; For any Occasion
Equipment
- 1 Whisk or hand mixer
- 1 Donut Pan
- 1 Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 75 g tbsp Unsalted butter At room temperature
- 50 g tbsp Caster sugar US granulated sugar
- 1 Unit Large egg
- ½ tbsp teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 g Cup Plain or all-purpose flour
- ½ tbsp Yeast powder
- ⅛ tbsp Bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Nutmeg
- 60 ml Buttermilk
- 1 tbsp Gel or paste food colouring red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F (160°C fan), and lightly grease a mini doughnut pan. Place the butter and sugar into a medium bowl and beat well with a hand-held electric mixer until light and fluffy. You can use a stand mixer if you like, although due to the smaller amount of batter involved in these little doughnuts, it can be easier to use a hand-held mixer.
- Mix in the egg and vanilla extract, then whisk thoroughly until well combined. The batter will curdle, but that’s okay. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the bowl with the batter, and then add the freshly grated nutmeg. Mix together until fully incorporated.
- Pour the buttermilk into the batter and stir until it reaches a smooth consistency. Be careful not to over-mix, as you don’t want the doughnuts to be tough.
- Spoon the batter into six smaller bowls, trying to be as equal as possible – there’s no need to weigh the batter, I like to just eyeball it. Add a different food colouring to each bowl, mixing well to ensure that each colour is even.
- Either pipe or spoon the batters into the doughnut tin in a rainbow pattern, ensuring that each hole is about half full. Knock the doughnut pan on the table a few times to help get rid of any air bubbles, and then place in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes until a skewer or toothpick inserted into one of doughnuts comes out clean. Immediately transfer the doughnuts from the pan to a wire rack to let them cool.
Video
Notes
To keep the doughnuts fresh, store them in an airtight container, and they’ll last for 3-4 days. For longer storage, freeze them for up to 3 months, then thaw at room temperature when ready to enjoy.
Recipe inspired by Cupcake Jemma.
