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

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush some melted butter in the holes of a 24-hole mini muffin tin.

  2. Put the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a big bowl and mix together with your hands.

  3. Pour the melted butter into a jug with the egg, vanilla, maple syrup and buttermilk, and mix together with a fork.

  4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones and use a big wooden spoon to mix until there are no lumps.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

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