Ingredients
Fauxnuts:
3 Tablespoons Butter
1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Sea Salt
1/2 cup Roasted Strawberries, strained
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Glaze:
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Roasted Strawberry Syrup
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 oz Freeze Dried Strawberries
1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoon Half-and-Half
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 425.
FOR THE FAUXNUT CAKES:
In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg to butter mixture.
Beat for about 3-5 minutes to ensure light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.
In another separate bowl or cup, with an immersion blender, puree the roasted strawberries, sour cream and vanilla. Optionally, you can just mash and whisk the strawberries, vanilla and sour cream together.
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream mixture, until you have a smooth batter.
Grease and flour a 6-9 cavity donut pan.
Fill each cavity full. I use a piping bag to make this easier, but you can also do this with a spoon.
Put into the 425 oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350.
Bake 15 minutes, a toothpick should come out clean when checking doneness.
Rest cakes in the donut pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to complete cooling.
Once baked, the fauxnut will have cavities, but typically, not a full hole. If you'd like a full hole (I like there to be a full hole) you can completely cut out the cavity with an apple core tool or a knife.
FOR THE GLAZE:
In a blender, food processor or spice grinder, turn the freeze dried strawberries to powder.
In a bowl whisk together powdered freeze dried strawberries and powdered sugar.
To ensure a really smooth glaze, sift the powdered sugar mixture.
In a small saucepan melt butter with sugar and roasted strawberry syrup.
Cook until sugar is dissolved and the mixture lightly bubbles at the edges.
Slowly whisk butter mixture into the sifted powdered sugar mixture to ensure a smooth glaze adding half-and-half a little bit at a time until the glaze is the right consistency to coat the cakes.
Working quickly, spoon or pipe glaze over fauxnuts on the a cooling rack, or place glaze into a bowl and dip fauxnuts carefully.
Top glazed fauxnuts with sprinkles, freeze dried strawberries, etc. if desired. If garnishing with fresh strawberries, add strawberries right before serving as the fresh fruit will make the glaze weep if it sits on it for a long duration of time.
Allow to air dry for the glaze to set.
Makes 6-9 fauxnuts.
