treading the line between doughnut and muffin

I’ve seen this popping up on various food blogs and sites for the longest time ever, and have always wondered what they would taste like. I remember once I was planning to bake them, and got distracted by a lengthy conversation triggered off when someone said, “Doughnut muffin? Why don’t you just bake a muffin, OR a doughnut?”.

Because let’s face it, we all have our favourite desserts, but there is always something excitingly intriguing about pushing the envelope and treading the line between two favourites. If one can have the best of two worlds, why ever not, I say.

I baked these one rainy morning, and they came together quite fast, with an enticing aroma waffling through the kitchen. I packed two for the mister, and shared the rest with my parents. The mister didn’t care for these; he said they tasted somewhat undercooked. The parents liked the fact that they were plain (only topped with the cinnamon sugar), buttery, and went well with their tea.

For me, I admit that they were definitely different from your typical muffin. And doughnut, for that matter. The texture was similar to that of a cake doughnut, but more dense. I can understand how the mister felt like they were undercooked, because it had a heavy buttery taste akin to a white cake. But it was unmistakeably a cross texture between a muffin and a doughnut, something beyond the powdered sugar doughnut top and muffin dome appearance.

And when served warm (you really have to eat these muffins warm), they definitely pack a flavour you won’t get anywhere.

Snickerdoodle muffins next, perhaps?

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins
(adapted from here; makes six muffins)

1 cup flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup yoghurt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2-4 tbsp oil (I used 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Topping:
4 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, yoghurt, brown sugar, oil and vanilla essence.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Divide the batter among muffin cups, and bake at 200C for about 12-15 mins.
6. In a bowl, combine the sugar with cinnamon.
7. After removing the muffins from the oven, brush the tops with melted butter and dip them in the powdered sugar-cinnamon mixture. Set on a rack to cool.

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