Heath Bar Cake Doughnuts

Combine a favorite candy with an easy homemade doughnut and these Heath Bar Cake Doughnuts (Donuts) are a special treat!

I caved; I saw a bandwagon and I jumped on it. And I’m hooked too. What, you say? Homemade Heath Bar Cake Doughnuts; made especially because my favorite candy bar of all time is a Heath Bar.

When I first saw so many people making these homemade doughnuts in a specialty pan, I was sort of meh. I knew they would not measure up to the sticky sweet glazed donuts I loved.

But a friend gifted me with a pan, I tried them, and I’ll be honest, although they sounded easy I didn’t expect them to really taste like bakery doughnuts, but you know what? They’re simply old fashioned cake doughnuts, nothing fake about the baked, and even better, fresh out of your own oven!

I had a friend over for brunch to celebrate her birthday and I think if I hadn’t told her she would have never questioned it if I told her I picked up these Heath Bar Cake Doughnuts from a local specialty doughnut shop; they really were that good.

My move to a home a half hour south of where I lived for 20 some years saw few changes in availability of most things I was accustomed to; even if the shopping areas are 15 minutes away versus 5.

I am in between two growing communities in Colorado and both Parker and Castle Rock have all the same shopping amenities I was used to. Sprouts, Home Depot, Target, King Soopers (Kroger to most of you); sure, all those name brand stores are close enough in either direction.

What I do miss are some of the smaller mom and pop shops I had come to know. Chopped Salad, my shoe guy, the cleaners I had gone to for twenty years, and yes, the doughnut shop near my home that was a huge favorite that I discovered over 30 years ago when we were moving in!

Not a place I frequented daily but it was there and it was open at 6am if the urge hit me. I remember many a Saturday or Sunday morning when my dog Abbie would make the drive with me; a doughnut for me and a doughnut hole for her before we ever got home to my girls still sleeping soundly. Could making homemade Heath Bar Cake Doughnuts help soften that pain of remembrance and longing for another day with my sweet girls?

Gee, just thinking about her; almost 11 years now that she’s been gone and I still miss that sweet dog. I know she would love these! My daughter was 15 but now is grown and living in San Mateo, CA…miss her too! And trust me, I know the going rule with food bloggers is to keep it professional, don’t mention your life or family…we don’t want to bore people! Too bad…this is my food diary and I will continue to include memories of my sweet family. In return you get a recipe I’ve tested. We both win…and I get to eat the results! 🙂

Anyway…back to today’s reality. Living further South? A doughnut craving might be satisfied with a trip to the grocery store but those doughnuts are not the same so while I may not have gone there much, now I crave them.

And luckily I also think I’ve found my fix. While I admittedly love a light and fluffy yeasty glazed doughnut, I’ve always enjoyed the denser cake variety too and now I can make those and bake them and fiddle with flavors to my hearts desire.

Without a doubt the newfangled doughnut baking pans that appeared sometime around 2015 make this work easy. I ordered mine online from Amazon but they’re everywhere now so if the spirit moves you too, finding the pans should be easy.

I used a piping bag to get the dough into the pan easily; if you don’t have one of those, simply fill a Ziploc bag with dough and snip a corner about 3/4 of an inch across and you’ll have a homemade version.

The dough is simply mixed in a bowl so prep is pretty quick and you can have doughnuts prepped and baked and on the table in 25 minutes or less!

Forgoing the sprinkles, for me first out of the shoot was a creation that mimics my favorite flavor combination; chocolate and toffee, i.e. a Heath Bar Cake Doughnut. Tell me; why do we relegate these only to morning?

I also made French Toast Doughnuts with Bacon; a vanilla and cinnamon doughnut with a maple syrup glaze and bacon bits on top for a morning coffee with a friend. My friend Cher had sampled both the Heath Bar Cake Doughnut and these and could not choose…she loved them both!

I took the rest of these French Toast Doughnuts with Bacon, a vanilla and cinnamon doughnut with a maple syrup glaze and bacon bits on top, to another friend. They asked me to stay for dinner and we made these dessert…so go for something a bit decadent and do the same!

I didn’t plan to post the French Toast variety, I knew I wouldn’t have time for good photos…so just a quick snap with my phone. They are something I’ll have to make again. Yum!

These are so simple; you really need to get one (or more) of these pans if you don’t have one already and get baking!

More Breakfast Treats!

• Baileys Salted Caramel and Espresso Doughnuts
• Orejas (Mexican Pan Dulce)
• Gooey Butter Cake • A St. Louis Tradition!
• Blueberry Cream Cheese Croissant Bake
• Orange Cream Cheese Danish
• Blueberry and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

PIN IT! ‘Heath Bar Cake Doughnuts’

Heath Bar Cake Doughnuts

Barb

Combine a favorite candy with an easy homemade chocolate doughnut and these Heath Bar Baked Cake Doughnuts are a special treat!

5 average from less than 50 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 349 kcal

Equipment

• Baking Pan for Doughnuts

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Doughnuts

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cocoa
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup Greek yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter melted

For the Caramel Glaze

• ¼ teaspoon butter
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup powdered sugar

To Finish

• 4 tablespoons Toffee Bits Look in the Candy Aisle for Heath Bits

Instructions

 

To Make the Doughnuts

• Preheat oven to 325F degrees and spray doughnut pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a small bowl combine buttermilk, yogurt, egg, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk or stir to combine.
• Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
• Using a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off, pipe the batter into the prepared pan making sure each form is only 2/3 full.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes (should spring back when touched). Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.

To Make the Glaze

• Combine all glaze ingredients except sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until it starts to bubble and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar. Keep warm on lowest heat while glazing.

To Glaze

• Sprinkle toffee bits on a plate. After the doughnuts have cooled for 5 minutes, dip the tops into the glaze and immediately sprinkle with the toffee bits. Allow to cool until the glaze dries.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Heath Bar Cake Doughnuts

Serving Size

 

1 Serving

Amount per Serving

Calories

349

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

12

g

18

%

Cholesterol

 

55

mg

18

%

Sodium

 

322

mg

14

%

Carbohydrates

 

56

g

19

%

Protein

 

4

g

8

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Calories

349

Keyword breakfast, dessert, donuts, doughnuts, heath bar

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