Mini elf doughnuts

Don’t let Santa’s elves get left out this Christmas! Kids will love to help bake and decorate these tiny treats and leave them by their stockings – and you can add some carrots for Rudolph too

Prep:45 mins
Cook:10 mins
plus cooling

More effort

Nutrition per serving

kcal 91
fat 2g
saturates 14g
carbs 17g
sugars 14g
fibre 0g
protein 1g
salt 0.1g

Ingredients

2 tbsp melted butter, plus an extra 1 tbsp for greasing
100g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
3 tbsp golden caster sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp buttermilk
250g icing sugar
50ml milk
red and green food colouring
red, green & white sprinkles
red and green writing icing tubes (optional)

Tip

You will need...

For this recipe, you will need a 24-hole mini muffin tin, a box lined with tissue paper to stack the doughnuts in, a pastry brush and an apple corer. You can also add carrots for Rudolph and a glass of Sherry for Santa, if you like!

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush some melted butter in the holes of a 24-hole mini muffin tin.
Put the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a big bowl and mix together with your hands.
Pour the melted butter into a jug with the egg, vanilla, maple syrup and buttermilk, and mix together with a fork.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones and use a big wooden spoon to mix until there are no lumps.
Use teaspoons to divide the mixture between the holes in the tin. Bake in the oven for 8-10 mins, then cool in the tin.
Now it's time to turn them into doughnuts. Once cool, carefully tip the cakes out. Sit each on a chopping board and push an apple corer into the centre to cut the middle out so you have a ring.
Put the icing sugar and milk in a saucepan over a low heat. Whisk until runny and smooth. Divide the icing between three bowls, and mix a little green food colouring into one bowl, and a little red colouring into another.
Sit the doughnuts on a wire rack (so the drips can fall off), then spoon a little icing onto each. Decorate with sprinkles and writing icing, if you like. As this glaze dries quickly, finish decorating one colour, then start the next colour. If the icing is not runny enough, put in the microwave for 10 secs and stir well. Will keep for 2 days.