Jen D'Agostino

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The Cabin at the End of the World: Cake Doughnuts

Jennifer D'Agostino

The Cabin at the End of the World is a little bit of a slow burn, but it’s definitely worth a read, especially during this time of year. It tells the story of an apocalyptic group of people converging on a cabin owned by a couple and their daughter. They must choose - sacrifice one of them or the world end. I won’t give any spoilers, but you can imagine what chaos ensues.

Early on in the novel, they mentioned picking up doughnuts and coffee before they left for the cabin. Long drives and doughnuts are such a huge part of my childhood (looking at you Tim Horton’s) that I needed to reminisce a little bit.

These are cake doughnuts so you will need a doughnut pan. If you don’t want to make cake-based doughnuts, here is my recipe for yeast doughnuts. Also, here is a cool YouTube video on how to make your own doughnut pan.

Easy Cake Doughnut Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup (5oz/150g) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (1.5oz/45g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup (2oz/60g) brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

pinch salt

4 tablespoons (2oz/60g) butter, melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (6oz/180g) sour cream (buttermilk or yogurt)

Glaze

2½ cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons milk

Red food colouring (powder or gel based)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease your doughnut tin.

  2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and both sugars, and salt.

  3. In a separate bowl mix together egg, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla extract.

  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently mix to a smooth batter.

  5. Using a spoon or a piping bag, fill each doughnut spot about 2/3 of the way up.

  6. Bake doughnuts for 12-15 minutes or until they are firm and spring back when you touch them. Pop them out of the donut pan and onto a cooling rack to cool until warm to the touch.

  7. To make the Glaze: Sift the icing sugar.

  8. Whisk in the milk, and vanilla and whisk until the glaze is smooth. You may need to add additional powdered sugar or milk depending on the consistency you like. Add just a tiny bit of red food colouring.

  9. Dip the top of each doughnut in the glaze. Let sit for about 5 minutes. You can add sprinkles if you want.

  10. Serve and enjoy