I have been wanting to post this recipe for a while now! My sister and I, baked these sexy things back when I was in France for the holidays. 

If you love doughnuts but feel a little guilty because they are well maybe too oily..? You should try these baked doughnuts! I've slightly adapted this recipe from 101 Cookbooks !

I know, if you are a doughnut fan you might be thinking, whattt?? BAKED doughtnuts? Yes I was one of you. But give them a go. You'll be convinced!

They are like a cross between a doughnut and a bun. They are perfect for breakfast, lunch and well dinner... Trust me on this one.

So that's what you'll need to make about 20 doughnuts :

- 1 1/3 cups warm milk.

- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 2/3 cup sugar

- 2 eggs

- 5 cups all-purpose flour 

- 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Pour your warm milk into a cup and stir in the yeast ( your milk has to be just warm, if too hot it will kill the yeast!) Set the mixture aside for about 5 minutes.

If you have an electric mixer use it! I decided to do it the old fashioned way and use my hands! So place the butter, sugar, salt and flour in a bowl and mix it!

Add your eggs to the flour mixture and stir.

Then add in the milk+yeast and mix!

You want the dough to be smooth and supple. If yours is too dry add a little bit of milk. If it's too sticky add a little bit of flour.

Place your dough on a floured surface and knead it a few times, shape it into a ball, then transfer it to an oiled bowl into a warm place. Let it rise for about an hour, or until it has doubled in size.

Then you need to place your dough on a floured surface again. Roll it out, it has to be more or less 1/2-inch thick. If you don't have a doughnut cutter (like myself) use cookie cutters, they work just fine! (use the smaller one to cut the whole in the middle)

 Once you've cut out all your little doughnuts, place them onto a baking sheet, cover them with a clean tea towel and let them rest for another 45 minutes.

At this point you should turn your oven on. 375 degrees (or 190 degrees Celcius) 

After 45 minutes, place them in your oven. Bake them for about 8 to 10 minutes, it's really quick! Their bottoms should get a little golden! 

You don't want to over bake them, if anything it's better to take them out of the oven slightly under baked, so they continue to bake outside of the oven.

The inside should be tender and moist.

I made the mistake to make the whole in the center a little too small so they shut! Make sure yours are big enough!

Let them cool for a little while, then cover them with whatever rocks your boat! We decided that Nutella and sprinkles would do the trick, then we discovered they were so good, they could be eaten with just a little icing sugar on top!

In the original recipe they are dipped in a little bit of butter then covered in sugar and cinnamon! You choose!

Now EAT. 

(don't wait too long! They are SO much better fresh out of the oven!)

This recipe is perfect for a weekend treat! I could seriously eat them all day long. 

Bon Appétit!