Subtle middle eastern flavours come together to make these delicious, light and fluffy baked doughnuts. I love cardamom, you only need a little so that you get a hint of flavour, otherwise it can be quite overpowering, especially if you're new to baking with it! Pistachio and rose are delicate flavours that work so well together and also look beautiful.
Time to make : 25 minutes
Time to bake : 10 minutes
Servings : 12
Ingredients
220g plain flour
100g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
200ml milk (or milk alternative)
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
2 egg
Glaze
320g icing sugar (powdered sugar)
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp rosewater essence
Red/pink food colouring
15g pistachios, finely chopped, to top
Edible dried rose petals, to decorate
Method
Preheat a fan oven to 180C and spray doughnut tins with cooking spray (coconut or light olive oil work well) and set aside. Melt the butter now so that it's not still very hot when we add it to the wet mix later
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom
In a seperate bowl, combine the milk, butter (melted but cooled), vanilla and eggs
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (we don't want to over mix it!)
Spoon or pipe the mixture into the prepared doughnut tin, filling each ring about 1/2 full. I use a piping bag, or a ziplock bag, and snip the end off so that it's easier and less messy to pour the batter into the tins
Bake for 10 minutes. The doughnuts will still be light in colour but firm with a spring to touch, don't be tempted to overtake them. Remove from the oven and allow too cool on a cooling rack
For the glaze, put the icing sugar into a clean bowl and with a whisk (hand held or electric), slowly add in the milk and rosewater essence. We want the consistency to be smooth but thick, like toothpaste, keep whisking to remove any clumps and bumps. Adjust the milk/icing sugar ratio until you're happy with the consistency. If you're using a food colouring, add in a very small amount to start (gels especially can be very pigmented and strong!)
Prepare any toppings (chopped nuts, petals etc.) before you glaze each doughnut so that the icing is still wet and the toppings will stick
To glaze, take each cooled doughnut and either use your fingers to 'dunk' them in or use a piping bag/spoon to smooth over the surface. Sprinkle the toppings over with the icing still wet.
Repeat until all doughnuts are coated, leave to set and enjoy!
Nutritional Information
260 calories
4g protein, 48g carbs, 5g fat
Good to know:
Vegetarian
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or refrigerated if in warm climates
Can be frozen (un-sugared) and kept in an airtight container for up to 2 months
If using food colouring, I always prefer gels as you need far less for these and they don't throw off the recipe (by adding to much liquid)
Cardamom seeds come in 'pods' and I always find using freshly ground (using a postal and mortar or spice grinder) makes a big difference, or you can buy it ready ground