Skinny Mini Red Velvet Donuts & Muffin Tops

I discovered something fantastic this weekend.

If you over-fill mini donut pans – if pour enough batter so you have to tiptoe to the oven with your back straight because 1 tilt and the floor will be covered in red liquid donuts – you can make mini donuts and muffin tops at the same time. My laziness and greediness are finally paying off!

When you make your drizzle, make sure you whisk your powdered sugar better than I did!

Not sure what I mean? Instead of filling each mini donut mold half-way like you’re meant to, pour the batter all the way to the top so you can’t fit any more in. Bake a little longer than normal and the mini donuts will puff out over the top. When you take them out of the oven they’ll look like mini cupcakes! After they’ve cooled, slice the domes off with a knife and you’ll be left with mini donuts and mini muffin tops.

Watch out for the freaky shadow monsters on the wall

 I’m not sure how many calories are in each mini donut. The scales I use can tell me exactly how many calories/carbs/protein/etc are in everything – I really should read that manual! But check the ingredients – all the moisture comes from a little bit of yogurt and 1 egg. And besides, they’re mini donuts, and we all know anything mini is practically negative calories.

Skinny Mini Red Velvet Donuts & Muffin Tops

Makes 24 mini donuts or 12 mini donuts and 12 muffin tops

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons corn starch

pinch salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons Greek yogurt

about 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons white or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

drizzle of choice

Recipe

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F and sieve the flour and cornstarch at least three times.

2. Mix in the salt, baking powder, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.

3. In another bowl, beat together the egg, milk, yogurt, vanilla and red food coloring. Stir this into the dry ingredients.

4. Sprinkle the baking soda over the vinegar and quickly fold into the donut batter.

5. Pour the batter into a greased mini donut pan. Fill the molds all the way to the top if you want muffin tops or only half way if you want all mini donuts. Bake for around 8 minutes if making donuts or 12 minutes if making muffin tops as well.

5. Remove from the baking tray and leave to cool on a wire rack before dipping in your favorite drizzle. I dipped mine in a simple lemon drizzle made from powdered sugar, a few drops of lemon juice and a few drops of water.

Tip: it's much easier to slice the muffin tops of whilst the donuts are still in the pan

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Healthy Mini Chocolate Donuts & Muffins

Welcome to the magical Pink Recipe Box bakery where you can eat as many chocolate donuts as you like without putting on a single pound. Okay, that might be a bit exaggerated – I work in marketing so what do you expect? – but it’s not far from the truth. These chocolate donuts really are healthy. You won’t find any oil or butter in the recipe and you won’t have to step anywhere near a deep-fat fryer.

They are a combination of oats, egg, cocoa, apple sauce and yogurt essentially, with a few other ingredients thrown in for good measure. I was skeptical at first when making the batter – it was really thin and the ingredients just didn’t sound appealing together. Then I tried a spoonful of the batter – a very important quality control measure all bakers will know about wink wink – all ready to pull my what-on-earth-have-I-done?! face, only to be pleasantly surprised. The batter tasted great and if the raw batter tastes great, you just know the final creation will be fantastic.

Because there is hardly any fat in these donuts, feel free to add a few handfuls of chocolate chips – I promise I won’t tell. My donuts are covered in a chocolate glaze – 1 part melted butter to 2 parts melted milk chocolate – which isn’t healthy, but as soon as I find a way to make a butter and chocolate combo that’s good for you, I’ll let you know.

I bought this mini donut pan from Amazon a while ago. It’s fantastic – the donuts pop out really easily and don’t stick at all. If you don’t have a mini donut pan, you can always pour the batter into muffin cases and make Healthy Chocolate Muffins that you can eat for breakfast. Don’t forget the chocolate chips!

Healthy Mini Chocolate Donuts or Muffins

Inspired by Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins from Healthy is Always Better

Makes around 36 mini donuts or 12 muffins

Ingredients

½ cup + 2 tablespoons oats

1 egg

1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup hot water

2 tablespoons apple sauce

2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Pinch salt

Optional chocolate chips

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/170°C and grease a mini donut pan or line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers.

2. In a blender or food processor, blend together all of the ingredients until the mixture is smooth.

3. Fold in chocolate chips is using and half fill your donut mold or fill your cupcake liners 2/3 full. If you want chocolate chips to sit on top of your muffins like mine, sprinkle a few on top of the muffins before baking.

4. Bake donuts for around 12-15 minutes or until they spring back when touched. Bake muffins for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. 

Here are the link parties I take part in.
Come and join the fun!