Not quite doughnuts--Devil’s Food Cake Doughnuts

Devil’s Food Cake Doughnuts
Fry Light, Fry Right! Copyright 2004

1 ½ c. unbleached white flour
1 c. granulated sugar
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 c. water
2 tbsp. canola oil (plus more oil for preparing pans)
3 tbsp. fat-free or light sour cream
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 340 degree F. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the doughnut cups with canola oil.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add the water, canola oil, sour cream, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3. Fill the prepared doughnut cups almost to the top. Bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Let cool before removing from the pan and/or glazing.

Makes about 12 doughnuts (full-size - I made 24 mini-doughnuts and 12 farm animals). Per 2 unfrosted donuts: 286 cal, 4 g pro, 57 g carbs, 5.3 g fat, 1 mg chol, 2 g fiber, 410 mg sodium

Vanilla Glaze

1 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. water
½ tsp vanilla extract I thought that was too much - the vanilla flavor was too strong

Combine powdered sugar, water and vanilla in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
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Okay, I won't lie to you, these weren't as good as a fried doughnut but what is? These weren't bad but let's face it - they're little cakes, not doughnuts. They started to get a bit sticky after a while. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices when you're trying to eat healthier (not that I often eat real doughnuts). They get extra points for being cute.

So, I still haven't found the optimal recipe for my mini-doughnut pan that. I suspect a rich, dense pound cake-like recipe might be best, yet not all that much better for you than frying.

We're not eating healthy enough on weekends. I need to put more effort into planning weekend meals. I just never know for sure if we're going to be eating at home on the weekends.

I don't feel as bad about my grocery bills anymore. I was picking up a few things yesterday and the woman in front of me was spending over $220 on a cart of food smaller than I usually buy. Sure, she likely was shopping for more than one week and who knows what she had in there. I noticed bottles of detergent, marked-down beef, a frozen pizza, lots of fresh produce and a bottle of self-tanner - hell yeah I'm nosey! It just brought home to me that fact that it's not just me - grocery prices are much higher than they were a few years ago so I can't keep comparing what I'm spending now to what I was spending a few years ago.

I just now realized that Blogger changed things around and made it the default to not allow new comments. I was wondering why no one had anything to say on Friday. I don't know why they're fooling with stuff like that when they have so many other quirks they need to iron out.

Blast From The Past: Marinated Barbecue Chicken from July 2006. I served this at our big cookout last year and it got a lot of compliments.

Question of the Day: Have you noticed an increase in grocery prices?