Ruby Chocolate-Glazed Baked Donuts

Ahhhh, Valentine’s Day. A day full of commercialized romance. Nuts to love, just give me the SWEETS.

I’m sure this Valentine’s Day will be different for many as we continue to trudge through this pandemic. Many will stay home with the ones they love – their partner, their kids, their pets, or THEMSELVES! – instead of going out. (Then there will be the people that go out anyways, but…let’s not open THAT can of worms here…)

Though I am more of a salty gal than a sweet gal – I take after my mother compared to my father in that regard – I do love the occasional sweets, and I was really turned onto ruby chocolate a few years ago when I ate it in a Valentine’s Day-inspired cookie from Chip City. The unique fruitiness and distinctive tang – not to mention its rosy hue – drew me in, and I enjoy it enough to buy it on its own to snack on: Chocolove produces my FAVORITE Ruby Chocolate bar, and it’s easy to find at most grocery or corner stores in NYC!

When it comes to experimenting with ruby chocolate, I’ve seen others do it better than me. I put my recipe development hat on early last year – pre-pandemic, what a time! – and tried to get clever; my recent query as to whether it’d make for a good dip for candied citrus fruit was answered by Giora Stuchiner when he recently posted ruby chocolate-dipped candied oranges. (A project for me for another day!)

After trying to think of something on the more unique side, I decided not to get too inventive with ruby chocolate and just stick to something I knew how to make: ganache. The general formula for ganache stays the same, and I just switched ruby chocolate in for my usual milk or dark chocolate. Making a ruby chocolate ganache is ridiculously easy, almost fool-proof, in my opinion.

You know what else I’m good at making? Baked vanilla donuts, a long-time fan of the As Easy As Apple Pie recipe.

BOOM.

Ruby Chocolate-Glazed Baked Donuts.

I first made these last year for a Galentine’s Day party at my friend’s old apartment in Harlem last year, and they were a smash! I made them a few times again recently, and they were delicious…except my baking powder has seen better days, because those donuts just did not rise! This photo? It’s a year old. Ha! But at least there is one good shot of them in their ruby chocolate glory. Perhaps I’ll get better photos in due time, but…am I that content creator that wanted to get one good Valentine’s Day dessert recipe online this week?

Duh.

Enjoy!

Ruby Chocolate-Glazed Baked Donuts

(Donut recipe adapted from “Vanilla Glazed Baked Donuts” by As Easy As Apple Pie; Makes 6 regular-sized baked donuts)

Ingredients:

For Vanilla Baked Donuts:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar (See “Before We Get Started…”)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk (See “Before We Get Started…”)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Ruby Chocolate Ganache:

• 6 oz. ruby chocolate, roughly yet finely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Before We Get Started…

• I have used both white granulated sugar as well as coconut sugar, both with success in this recipe.
• I have used whole dairy milk as well as oat milk, both with success in this recipe.
• This recipe will yield roughly a dozen mini-donuts if you are using a mini-donut pan.

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a donut pan (6-donut capacity or 12-mini-donut capacity) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2.) Over a large bowl, pour & shake flour through a large sieve to remove any lumps. Whisk in sugar, salt, and baking power.

3.) In a second large bowl, whisk together oil, egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Pour into dry ingredients and mix until combined; be careful not to overmix! Overmixed batter will result in flatter donuts. (Speaking from experience!)

4.) Carefully spoon donut batter into cavities of donut pan, filling until they are approximately 3/4 full; do not fill to top, or else your donuts will spill over and you’ll lose that quintessential donut hole in the center!

5.) Place in oven and bake for 12 – 14 minutes until golden yet springy to the touch. Remove and place on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before carefully removing from donut pan. Place donuts on cooling rack and cool to room temperature.

6.) Once donuts have cooled, assemble the ganache: Roughly yet finely chop up ruby chocolate and place into a large heat-safe bowl. Heat heavy cream in a heat-safe in the microwave for 45 – 60 seconds; keep an eye on the cream to make sure it doesn’t boil over or scorch. Remove cream from microwave, slowly pour over ruby chocolate, and allow to sit for one minute Use a whisk to combine cream and chocolate until smooth.

7.) Dip donuts into ganache while it’s warm and place ganache-side up on cooling rack until ganache has set; top with some white nonpareils if you’re feeling the need for a little bit of extra texture in your life.

8.) Eat same day – of course! – or place in an airtight container for up to 2 days in a cool place.