Muffin Tin Doughnuts
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS To capture the best of breakfast baking, we set out to create a muffin that tasted like a cake doughnut in disguise with a tender crumb, a crisp exterior, and a buttery spiced coating. Adding an extra yolk and cutting all-purpose flour with cornstarch gave the muffins a tender crumb that wouldn’t break apart. To replicate a fried exterior, we turned up the oven temperature, which crisped the crust nicely. Lastly we brushed the muffins with butter and rolled them in cinnamon sugar. From coating to crumb, these doughnut muffins combined the essence of a doughnut and the ease of a muffin (without a deep fryer in sight). See the sidebar that follows the recipe.
MAKES 12 DOUGHNUTS
In step 3, brush the doughnuts generously, using up all the melted butter. Use your hand to press the cinnamon sugar onto the doughnuts to coat them completely.
DOUGHNUTS |
|
2¾ |
cups (13¾ ounces) all-purpose flour |
1 |
cup (7 ounces) sugar |
¼ |
cup cornstarch |
1 |
tablespoon baking powder |
1 |
teaspoon salt |
½ |
teaspoon ground nutmeg |
1 |
cup buttermilk |
8 |
tablespoons unsalted butter, melted |
2 |
large eggs plus 1 large yolk |
COATING |
|
1 |
cup sugar |
2 |
teaspoons ground cinnamon |
8 |
tablespoons unsalted butter, melted |
1. FOR THE DOUGHNUTS: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Whisk flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg together in bowl. Whisk buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs and yolk together in separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just combined.
2. Scoop batter into prepared tin. Bake until doughnuts are lightly browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 19 to 22 minutes. Let doughnuts cool in tin for 5 minutes.
3. FOR THE COATING: Whisk sugar and cinnamon together in bowl. Remove doughnuts from tin. Working with 1 doughnut at a time, brush all over with melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar, pressing lightly to adhere. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Serve.