Sweet Potato Donuts with Basil Mascarpone and Brown Sugar Peach Frosting
It is peach season and we took full advantage. We had a nice morning picking peaches at a farm, totally socially distant. Yes, this year we had wear a mask and we were more aware of our surroundings. However, it was nice to be able to do an activity that felt routine. I am not one for taking on baking projects but once in awhile I test the waters. This donut while not hard to make, essentially has 3 parts to it. So the recipe is a bit time consuming, but totally worth it! You can even save the caramelized peaches for a topping on toast or ice cream which is an added bonus!
Sweet Potato Donuts with Basil Mascarpone and Brown Sugar Peach Frosting
ingredients
sweet potato donut (adapted from: ihearteating.com )
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup plain mashed sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
basil mascarpone
1 stick unsalted butter
5 basil leaves
4 oz mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
peaches
1 1/2 cup peaches, peeled pitted and chopped
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
instructions
donuts
Preheat oven to 350 Grease 2 6-well doughnut pans with cooking spray. Set aside.
Stir together flour, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Whisk together brown sugar, butter, oil, buttermilk, egg, egg yolk, sweet potatoes, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
Add flour mixture to sweet potato mixture, until well incorporated. Make sure you do not see any bits of dried flour.
Spoon mixture into prepared doughnut pans. They will be full.
Bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove doughnuts from pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool
basil mascarpone
Heat the butter and roughly chopped basil leaves over a low/medium heat. Let butter and basil melt, and simmer for about ten minutes to infuse the basil flavor. Make sure to stir it every so often to prevent from burning.
Strain the butter into a glass dish, removing the basil leaves. Then place in the fridge until it firms up a bit. It doesn’t have to be a solid block of butter, rather a creamy consistency rather than watery.
Then add the butter mixture to a large bowl along with the mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar. Beat until mixture is smooth. Set aside until ready to use. If you think it is going to be awhile until you work with it, pop it into the fridge. Make sure when you remove it you give it a couple of minutes to get to room temperature.
brown sugar peaches
In a saute pan melt the butter and add the sugar. Stir gently and add the peaches.
Let peaches cook until caramelized (they start the brown), about 5-7 minutes. Then let peach mixture cool before topping the donuts.
putting it together
Once the donuts have cooled add the mascarpone frosting.
If you have a pastry bag with a tip you can use this to pipe on the frosting. Or you could use a small spoon to spoon it on top of the donut, then smooth it out for a rustic look!
Then top the frosting with a couple of peach pieces and dig in!