Baked Apple Doughnuts with Whipped Ganache. Delicious doughnuts packed with flavor feature applesauce, grated fresh apple, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and buttermilk. These cake like doughnuts are baked until golden. The doughnuts are rolled in brown sugar cinnamon and topped with whipped ganache.
Why You Should Make These Doughnuts
- delicious warm right out of the oven.
- classic comfort food pairs perfectly with milk, coffee or tea.
- easy to make, bake in minutes.
- the ganache frosting melts in your mouth.
- apple + cinnamon + chocolate + pecans
How to Make Baked Apple Doughnuts with Whipped Ganache
For our baked doughnuts we combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, fine sea salt, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. It’s a healthy dose of cinnamon, a flavor that pairs very well with apple. The dry ingredient mix is whisked and set off to the side.
In a separate large mixing bowl, we combine melted butter, eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, buttermilk, applesauce, and fresh grated apple.
Unsweetened applesauce is called for so we can control the sugar content, but I make these doughnuts every few months and use whatever applesauce I have on hand at the time.
I used Honeycrisp apples for this batch of baked apple doughnuts. I peel, halve, and core the apples before I grate them with a large holed vegetable grater. I lay the grated apple on paper towels to remove some of the moisture. The wet ingredients are stirred until a nice smooth mix is achieved.
The dry ingredients are introduced to the wet ingredient in two batches. I use a large spatula and fold the dry into the wet. I’m just looking to get the dry ingredients incorporated, not mixing beyond that point.
The apple doughnut batter is put into a piping bag with a large hollow tip and piped into a non-stick doughnut pan. I have three large holed silicone doughnut “pans”, that make larger doughnuts. I baked my apple doughnuts for 18 minutes. Most doughnut pans produce smaller doughnuts and will finish baking these doughnuts in 12 to 14 minutes. They will be golden along the edges and firm to the touch.
Once removed from the oven, the doughnuts are cooled completely.
Whipped ganache is prepared by adding hot heavy cream to chopped chocolate. The mixture is set aside to allow the chocolate to melt. After 5 to 10 minutes the mix is stirred until smooth and glossy. Once its cooled a bit at room temperature its placed in the refrigerator to chill until firm.
The ganache is flavored with a little sea salt and vanilla bean extract. Both enhance the chocolate flavor.
The chilled ganache is whipped with a hand or stand mixer until fluffy and light.
The doughnuts are brushed with melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar. The tops are frosted with the whipped ganache and garnished with whole or chopped toasted pecans, if desired.
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Baked Apple Doughnuts with Whipped Ganache
Equipment
- 3 (6-cavity) regular small doughnut pans OR 2 (4-cavity) jumbo doughnut pans
Ingredients
Doughnuts:
- 512 grams all-purpose flour (4 cups)
- 20 grams baking powder (4 teaspoons)
- 5 grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
- 3 grams baking soda (1/2 teaspoon)
- 11 grams ground cinnamon (1-1/2 tablespoons)
- 1 gram ground nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon)
- 56 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled (1/4 cup)
- 100 grams egg (2 large)
- 100 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 100 grams light brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- 120 grams buttermilk (1/2 cup)
- 250 grams unsweetened applesauce (1 cup)
- 180 grams fresh apple, peeled, cored and grated (1-1/2 cup)
Whipped Ganache:
- 224 grams finely chopped milk chocolate (8 ounces)
- 5 grams vanilla bean paste or extract (1 teaspoon)
- 3 grams fine sea salt (1/2 teaspoon)
- 360 grams heavy whipping cream (1-1/2 cups)
Toppings:
- 100 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 6 grams ground cinnamon (1 tablespoon)
- 14 grams unsalted butter (1 tablespoon)
- 60 grams whole pecans (1/2 cup), toasted
Instructions
Doughnuts:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 6-cavity doughnut pans (OR two 4-cavity jumbo doughnut pans ) with non-stick cooking spray or wipe with vegetable oil. Set aside.
- Add all-purpose flour, baking powder, fine sea salt, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg to small mixing bowl Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Add melted butter, eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, buttermilk, applesauce, and fresh grated apple to large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add 1/2 the flour mixture to the apple mixture. Fold in with large spatula. Add remaining flour mixture and fold in just until combined.
- Transfer doughnut batter to large plastic bag. Seal the bag. Cut a small hole in one corner of the bag. Squeeze the bag to fill the doughnut pan cavities. Alternately, you can use a piping bag, or a spoon, if desired.
- Fill each doughnut cavity about 2/3 of the way up the sides. Level each doughnut with your finger so the batter is even.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until doughnuts look firm and spring back when touched.
- Remove from oven. Cool several minutes in pan. Remove doughnuts from pan to cool completely.
Whipped Ganache:
- Add chopped milk chocolate, vanilla bean paste and fine sea salt to medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Add heavy cream to small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until boiling.
- Pour hot cream over chocolate. Let set for 5 minutes.
- Stir with a large spatula until the mixture is smooth and velvety.
- Cool 15 minutes at room temperature and refrigerate for two hours.
- Whip with a stand mixer or beaters until soft, whipped, and slightly lightened in color.
Toppings:
- Combine sugar and ground cinnamon in small bowl. Brush doughnuts with melted butter. Roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.
- Frost doughnuts with whipped ganache, garnish with toasted pecans.
