Mulberry Donuts & Spring Time Adventures Video
It's Mulberry season at our house and do you know what that means for me. Lot's and lot's of washing. Speckled purple clothes every afternoon are piled into the washing machine. The kids can't get enough of the Mulberries and J.D looks forward to this time each year to stuff his face. Little Miss has just cottoned on to what Mulberry season is and is loving it. Each afternoon they pull on their boots, bucket in hand and skip down to our huge, weeping, fruit laden Mulberry tree sitting at the back fence of our property. They spend a good half and hour creeping through the weeping branches searching for the perfectly ripe Mulberry to gobble up. I give them buckets in the hope that I get some at the end of their endeavours to use for breakfast the next day or in this case these divine Mulberry Donuts with a Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze.
More often than not they come up with empty buckets and bursting tummies with purple stained fingers and faces. Happy purple stained faces that probably won't eat dinner now they have gorged themselves on Mulberries all afternoon. I thought I would try to make use of the excess Mulberries (that I have to pick myself mind you) into something a bit different than the normal pie or tart recipe. Since I am heavily pregnant and want ALL.THE.CAKE and things I went with turning them into a donut. One drizzled in the most deliciously tart and creamy Lemon & Cream Cheese Glaze. Heaven.
The donut batter is a bit cakier than the traditional ones with a beautiful soft crumb which melts in the mouth. I used a donut tin to make these, and they are baked not fried. Makes it healthier, right? Can I eat a couple more than usual? Ha. If you don't own a donut tin, I would recommend just making these into mini cupcakes or muffins and put the glaze on top. Will work the same and taste just as good. I made these extra pretty with the addition of some spring time blooms we have in our garden. Our lavender is always blooming beautifully which attracts a multitude of bees throughout the day. My roses have just started blooming in the past week, and I am smitten as I am every year with the beauty of them. I don't think there is anything more beautiful than a perfectly formed rose. Perfection.
If you are going to use them on baked goods I make sure they have not been sprayed with any pesticides and have been checked for any bugs or bits of dirt. While I am sure you could probably munch on the petals I chose to remove them once I wanted to eat them.
I so could see layers of these donuts formed into a birthday or celebration cake, sprinkled with petals and flowers for a whimsical touch. Argh now I have ideas and want to make one. One day, one day. In the meantime, I am trying to concentrate on getting the nursery prepared for this baby. Only two weeks to go and the countdown is on. I am nearly done doing all the nesting things. I've tidied, cleaned, organised, thrown out and moved a multitude of things. We moved Little Miss into my old photography studio last week, and the transition went pretty well all things considered. We not only moved her out of the only room she knows we also put her in a big girls bed instead of her cot. Poor thing it must not have been a nice change for her initially but she bounced back pretty quickly after a couple of bouts of tears during the night and a few stern words when she got over excited and wouldn't sleep she is doing well now.
Since we moved Little Miss into my old food photography studio, I am now at ends trying to find a spot to use when I want to take some food photographs. I've tried numerous locations around the house and these pictures are a result of my experiments, and although they've turned out pretty well, I cannot seem to capture the same light I had in my old room. Frustrated much? Yeah, a little but to be honest the next 2-3 months are going to be a little bit pre-occupied with a newborn and two rascal children. Who is going to have time to set up and take photographs.
I also couldn't help myself and put together a video of our adventures picking Mulberries on a beautiful spring afternoon. The sun was low; the light was golden, and the Mulberries were ripe for the picking. The bee's were finishing their rounds of pollen collecting, and the flowers were wafting their scent across the yard. It was a magical afternoon. I am still learning the camera and how to use it in video mode plus putting it all together in a video format. I love the process and hope to make more when I have the time. If you haven't already make sure you check the video out below AND, subscribe to me on YouTube. That would be fab.
Mulberry Donuts With Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Makes: Approx 18 Donuts
Download & Print RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups self raising flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup castor sugar
- 5 heaped tablespoon butter or coconut oil
- 3/4 cup milk or almond milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup mulberries, destemmed and slice into thin pieces
- 125g cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- pinch salt
- Rose petals or lavender buds
Instructions
DonutPreheat oven to 150 degrees (fan bake). Grease a 6 or 12 hole donut pan with a little spray oil.
In a bowl of the electric mixer add all the donut batter ingredients and beat on a medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in the sliced mulberries and gently fold into the batter.
Place a medium sized Ziploc bag inside of a cup and fold the edges over the side of the cup.
Spoon the mixture into the Ziploc bag and zip the top of the bag up while removing an excess air in the bag. Snip the corner of the bag with scissors making sure the hole is big enough to let the mulberry pieces through. Using the Ziploc bag as a piping bag, pipe the mixture into the donut pan. Make sure you don't overfill with the mixture.
Give the pan a gentle tap and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the donuts are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the donuts sit for five minutes before gently turning the donuts clockwise to release them from the pan. Tip the donuts onto a cooling tray.
Clean the tray and respray with oil to make the next batch. Continue until all the batter has been used.
Lemon Cream Cheese GlazePlace the cream cheese and icing sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until the icing sugar has dissolved. Pour in the lemon juice and mix until a loose glaze is formed. If it is still quite thick add in a little more lemon juice and continue to mix until you get the desired consistency.
AssemblyDip the cooled donuts into the lemon cream cheese glaze and place onto a serving tray. Repeat until all the donuts are iced.
Sprinkle on rose petals or lavender buds on top of the iced donuts to decorate.
