The delicious taste of red velvet cake in a Donut Bar!😋
An easy delicious recipe great for everyday or special Holidays like Christmas. Take a look at the video, grab the ingredients and start making. The taste of red velvet in a donut is a crowd pleaser.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED.
A FRYER OR POT AND THERMOMETER TO MAINTAIN THE TEMPERATURE.
AN SURFACE FOR SHAPING AND CUTTING OUT THE DOUGH
INGREDIENTS
For the donuts:
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
4 cups cake flour/pastry flour, plus more for dusting
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoon chocolate powder
1 cup of white sugar
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup buttermilk
About 2 quarts vegetable oil, for deep frying (enough for 3 inches deep)
For the vanilla glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup boiling water
4ozs cream cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Place 4 tablespoons unsalted butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
Place 3 1/2 cups cake flour, 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 2 tablespoons of chocolate cocoa powder in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Place the melted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (You can use a large bowl and electric handheld mixer.) Beat on medium speed until fluffy, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, about 2-3 minutes.
Reduce the speed to low. Add 1 large egg and 3 large egg yolks one at a time, stopping and scraping down the bowl as needed.
Add the red food coloring to the 3/4 cup buttermilk and mix until combined.
Add the buttermilk to the egg mixture and mix until combined
Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix just until a few streaks of flour remain. Remove the bowl and continue folding by hand until there are no flour streaks. The dough will be quite sticky and wet. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The time in the fridge makes the dough easier to work with: it remains sticky, but firms up alot.
Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and dust heavily with flour. Heavily flour a work surface and your hands with cake flour. Transfer half of the dough to the work surface, and heavily sprinkle it with flour. Pat the dough into a rectangle with the long side facing you, adding more flour to the work surface as needed. The dough is extremely soft and sticky, so don’t be afraid to use as much flour as you needed.
Use a floured bench scraper or knife to cut the rectangle into 2-by 3 rectangle bars. Once all the bars are cut, dip the bench scraper in flour and very gently press it down the center of each bar, making a slight indentation. (this will give a puffy top to your bars)
Using a brush, lightly brush the excess flour off the bars. Use a floured bench scraper or thin metal spatula to gently transfer each bar to one of the prepared cookie sheets. Refrigerate while you prepare the oil.
Fill a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven with at least 2 inches of vegetable oil or crisco oil.
Heat the oil on medium-high heat until 350ºF, or a bit above (the temperature will drop when you add your donuts). If you have a fryer with a timer and thermometer built in this would be the time to use it. Meanwhile, fit a wire rack over a baking sheet and top it with paper towels.
Remove the tray of bars from the refrigerator. Frying in batches of 4 to 5 so as not to crowd the pot, use a thin metal spatula to carefully transfer the donuts into the hot oil. Fry about 1 minute, you will see the donut float to the top then flip and let it cook for another 2 mins. The doughnuts are done when you hear less fry sound. The top will be puffy. Carefully transfer the donuts to the rack with the paper towels usings your spatular or tongs. Repeat frying the remaining donuts. Let cool to room temperature before glazing.
Make the glaze:
Place soften cream cheese and vanilla in a bowl. Mix together and add 1/4 cup boiling water and whisk until shiny and smooth. Dip a donut indentation-side down halfway into the glaze. Lift it up and allow the excess glaze to drip off. Return to the rack glazed-side up and repeat with the remaining donuts.
RECIPE NOTES
I love making Red Velvet Donut Bars for the Christmas Holidays. I make the dough on Christmas Eve, refrigerate overnight and fry them Christmas Morning. Trust me they will be a holiday tradition. Highly recommend a thermometer if using a pot to fry. Maintaining an even temperature is necessary for the frying.