I take no prisoners when it comes to donut muffins.
There’s a lot to love about Healdsburg, California. From great restaurants, to adorable shops and a variety of wine tasting rooms, it’s a great home base away from more touristy wine country towns. That’s lovely and all, but the real reason why I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Healdsburg is because it’s where the donut muffin and I were first introduced.
Located off Healdsburg’s quaint town center park, the donut muffin is made by the Downtown Bakery & Creamery. Not quite a donut and not quite a muffin, this treat is indulgent without being overly sweet. The flavor is inspired by that of a traditional cake donut with a cinnamon/sugar topping.
Donut muffin magic in progress.
After leaving Healdsburg, I had the brilliant thought to google the Downtown Bakery & Creamery’s donut muffin recipe. Through the magic that is internet search, I found the recipe online and quickly went to work in my tiny Boston kitchen.
The end result? Pretty darn good. I couldn’t figure out how to replicate the crisp outer crust to match the donut muffin from the Downtown Barkery & Creamery, but all of my taste testers seemed very pleased. While the recipe is a little labor intensive, mostly because I wanted to make them as mini muffins, versus large muffins, I found the process worthwhile.
The finished product: mini donut muffins!
Tip: Instead of dipping my mini muffins in melted butter, I used a pastry brush and brushed it on. I also gingerly sprinkled the cinnamon/sugar topping instead of rolling. I initially made them this way to make them lighter, but the end result still tasted indulgent, so I’ll continue to do this going forward.
To view the recipe for the Downtown Bakery & Creamery’s Donut Muffin, click here. Buon Appetito!
For more of my recipes, click here.
Though I’m often out of town for major holidays, Easter is the one special time of year when my family descends upon Boston for a fun-filled weekend. My parents are probably savvier than some locals, given the amount of time they’ve spent in the city over the past 11 years. This is both a pro and a con, as it’s great that they know the city so well, but challenging in the sense that I’m tasked with planning the perfect mix of fun activities, both new and cherished favorites, for them to enjoy. If you were to ask them, they’d probably tell you that I think about these things too much, but I can’t help myself. I have a reputation to live up to (in my mind at least hehe)!
