Now that it’s December and the holidays are approaching, what’s better than a freshly baked sweet treat with chocolate and peppermint? Perhaps this year you need a special pick-me-up after everything that’s been going on. And if you don’t have the energy to spend hours in the kitchen baking complicated recipes, don’t worry. These chocolate donuts with peppermint cream are quick and very easy to make. You can bake them for yourself, or to give as gifts to your family and friends.
They only require simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. They include:
- flour
- sugar
- butter
- cream
- cocoa powder
- peppermint extract
Making the batter only takes around 10 minutes and baking the donuts another 10 minutes. The peppermint buttercream is also pretty quick and easy to make. The ingredients you will need for it are:
- butter
- icing sugar
- cream
- peppermint extract
Peppermint extract can be quite strong and overpowering for some people. If you don’t like it you could replace it with the zest from one orange. Likewise you can also use 1-2 tbsp. of freeze-dried fruit powder. I would recommend raspberry.
After piping the buttercream, I though my donuts were looking a little plain. So I decided to melt some chocolate and drizzle it over the donuts. However this step is optional.
Another thing to keep in mind is that donuts can dry very quickly as they have a large surface area. Normally the glaze provide a barrier that prevents moisture from escaping, but these ones are unglazed.
If you live alone and can’t eat then all, or if you make extras, these donuts freeze very well. Place them in the freezer in a Tupperware container. When you want to eat one (or two) let it thaw for around 30 minutes at room temperature.
See more donut recipes here.
And finally, the recipe for the chocolate donuts with peppermint cream:
Chocolate Donuts with Peppermint Cream
Ingredients
For the batter:
- 2 large egg whites at room temperature
- 1 cup (150 g/ 5 ¼ oz.) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g/ 3 ½ oz.) granulated sugar
- ½ stick (60 g/ 2 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml/ 4 ¼ oz.) cream (35% fat content)
- 3 tbsp. (20 g/ ¾ oz.) Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature for greasing the pan
For the peppermint cream:
- ½ stick (60 g/ 2 oz.) softened unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cups (140 g/ 5 oz.) icing sugar
- 2 tbsp. whipping cream (35% fat content)
- 2 tsp peppermint extract
Optional drizzle:
- 3 tbsp. bitter-sweet chocolate, melted
Instructions
For the batter:
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F).
- In a bowl sift the flour and cocoa powder, then add the baking powder. Mix them with a whisk and set aside.
- Gently melt the butter over low temperature. Make sure the butter does not bubble. Once melted, set it aside and allow it to cool a little.
- Crack the eggs into another bowl, then add the sugar and beat them at high speed using an electrical mixer. Mixture is ready when almost triple in volume and light in colour. Add the cream, vanilla extract and salt, and whisk until incorporated. With a spatula incorporate the flour mix in two-three steps, mixing after each addition. Add the melted, cooled butter and mix. Allow the batter to sit for 5 minutes.
- Grease the donut pan with room temperature butter. Pipe the batter into the pan filling ¾ of each cavity. Bake at for 10 minutes, or until donuts spring back when gently pressed.
- Once baked, take the pan out of the oven and allow the donuts to cool in the pan 2-3 minutes at room temperature. Transfer them to a rack and let them sit until completely cooled.
For the peppermint cream:
- In a bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until mixture becomes crumbly. Add the cream and peppermint extract and whip until mixture becomes thick and smooth.
- Place the peppermint cream into a piping bag and pipe it over the middle of each donut.
Optional drizzle:
- Drizzle each donut with melted chocolate.
