CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE DONUTS: National Doughnut Day!

The first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day celebrating the doughnut, an edible, ring shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened. This holiday event began in 1938 as a Chicago Salvation Army fundraiser for much needed funds during the depression. The day also recognized special women known as "Doughnut Lassies" who made and served doughnuts to homesick WWI soldiers in France, since doughnuts were thought to be the quintessential American food. Here's a song from a 1918 songbook celebrating doughnuts in WWI.

“A doughnut’s just a doughnut, boys, ’til you are “over there,”
And day and night you’re in a trench away in France somewhere;
You get a fresh-made doughnut, seems it comes from heaven above,
That doughnut, boys, reminds you of a slice of mother’s love.”

Read more.

The history of donuts, like so many foods, is debatable. Some believe that Dutch settlers brought doughnut making techniques from Holland. Hostess Donuts were first launched in the 1930's at a time in our history were looking for inexpensive ways to treat themselves. America's favorite doughnut is glazed, followed by chocolate, powdered sugar and plain.

There are 10 billion donuts made every year.

Chocolate Fudge Cake Donuts
I love this recipe from King Arthur Flour. It always works, and it's easy since you can bake these. The donuts come out moist, dense, and dark.  Icing is optional, but if you're a true chocoholic, you'll want to ice these donuts and add chocolate sprinkles. That makes it quadruple chocolate! 

Ingredients
2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional  (but I think it enhances the flavor)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
 2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
 2 teaspoons vinegar, white or cider
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) melted butter or 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Chocolate icing, optional
1 cup chocolate chips
4 tablespoons milk or half & half

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the wells of two standard doughnut pans. If you don't have two pans, simply bake the batter in two batches.
In large mixing bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Set aside.
In large measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, and vinegar. You may notice some curdling of the milk; that's OK. Add wet ingredients, along with  melted butter or vegetable oil, to dry ingredients, stirring to blend; there's no need to beat batter, just make sure everything is well-combined.
Spoon batter into prepared pan(s), filling between 3/4 and full.
Bake doughnuts for 12 to 15 minutes, or until  toothpick inserted into center of one comes out clean.
Remove doughnuts from oven, and after 30 seconds or so, loosen their edges, turn pan upside down over rack, and gently let doughnuts fall onto the rack.
For sugar-coated doughnuts, immediately shake doughnuts in 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; add 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder to sugar for an additional touch of chocolate.
If you want to ice doughnuts rather than shake in sugar, allow to cool completely before icing.

To make icing: 
Combine chocolate chips and milk or half & half in microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Heat until half & half is steaming and starting to bubble. Remove from microwave, and stir until chips have melted and icing is smooth.
Dip top of each doughnut in the icing; or spread icing on doughnuts.

NATIONAL DOUGHNUT (DONUT) DAY: History & Salvation Army Lassies' Doughnut Recipe

National Doughnut (Donut) Day is the first Friday in June. This year it falls today on Friday, June 5. National Doughnut Day was created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.

National Doughnut Day celebrates the doughnut, an edible, ring shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened. This holiday event began in 1938 as a Chicago Salvation Army fundraiser for much needed funds during the depression. The day also recognized special women known as "Doughnut Lassies" who made and served doughnuts to homesick WWI soldiers in France, since doughnuts were thought to be the quintessential American food. Here's a song from a 1918 songbook celebrating doughnuts in WWI.

A doughnut’s just a doughnut, boys, ’til you are “over there,”
And day and night you’re in a trench away in France somewhere;
You get a fresh-made doughnut, seems it comes from heaven above,
That doughnut, boys, reminds you of a slice of mother’s love.”

Doughnuts are popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets. They are usually deep-fried from flour dough, and shaped in rings or flattened spheres that sometimes contain fillings. Other types of batters can also be used, and various toppings and flavorings are used for different types.

Traditionally here in the U.S. there are lots of free doughnuts on Doughnut Day. You'll need to check since many donut shops are closed because of the coronavirus and protests and just plain economics. In the past, Krispie Kreme gave out one free doughnut of any kind, no purchase necessary. LaMar's Donuts in Colorado and the Midwest offered one free doughnut per customer. Dunkin' Donuts had a buy any beverage and they'd throw in a complimentary doughnut.   Tim Horton's had a coupon on their Facebook page for a free doughnut with any purchase in U.S. locations. Entenmann's Bakery donated $1 to the Salvation Army for each person who "liked" the Entemann's Facebook page . Search for other free donuts and celebrations in your town! Let me know what you find. Post a comment below.
 

Here's the original  SALVATION ARMY LASSIES’ DOUGHNUT RECIPE . Not sure about the lard, but it's the original recipe, after all, so historical.


SALVATION ARMY LASSIES' DOUGHNUT RECIPE
Yield: 4 doz. doughnuts

Ingredients
5 cups flour
2 cups sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1 ‘saltspoon’ salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1 Tub lard (!!)

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients (except for lard) to make dough.
Thoroughly knead dough, roll smooth, and cut into rings that are less than 1/4 inch thick. (When finding items to cut out doughnut circles, be creative! Salvation Army doughnut girls used whatever they could find, from baking powder cans to coffee percolator tubes.)
Drop the rings into the lard, making sure the fat is hot enough to brown the doughnuts gradually.
Turn the doughnuts slowly several times.
When browned, remove doughnuts and allow excess fat to drip off.
Dust with powdered sugar. Let cool and enjoy.

NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY: History & Recipe for Chocolate Doughnuts

National Doughnut (Donut) Day is the first Friday in June. This year it falls today on Friday, June 7. National Doughnut Day was created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.

National Doughnut Day celebrates the doughnut, an edible, ring shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened. This holiday event began in 1938 as a Chicago Salvation Army fundraiser for much needed funds during the depression. The day also recognized special women known as "Doughnut Lassies" who made and served doughnuts to homesick WWI soldiers in France, since doughnuts were thought to be the quintessential American food. Here's a song from a 1918 songbook celebrating doughnuts in WWI.

A doughnut’s just a doughnut, boys, ’til you are “over there,”
And day and night you’re in a trench away in France somewhere;
You get a fresh-made doughnut, seems it comes from heaven above,
That doughnut, boys, reminds you of a slice of mother’s love.”

Doughnuts are popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets. They are usually deep-fried from flour dough, and shaped in rings or flattened spheres that sometimes contain fillings. Other types of batters can also be used, and various toppings and flavorings are used for different types.

And, there are a lot of free doughnuts today!

Krispie Kreme is giving out one free doughnut of any kind, no purchase necessary. (at participating stores)

LaMar's Donuts in Colorado and the Midwest is offering one free doughnut per customer (at participating stores)

Dunkin' Donuts: Buy any beverage and they'll throw in a complimentary doughnut (while supplies last)  Dunkin' is also introducing a new sandwich on June 7: the Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich.. Bacon & Fried eggs between a split glazed doughnut that they say is 360 calories. Really??!!

Tim Horton's has a coupon on their Facebook page for a free doughnut with any purchase in U.S. lcoations. Like Tim Horton's and print coupon.

Entenmann's Bakery is donating $1 to the Salvation Army for each person who "likes" the Entemann's Facebook page (up to $30,000). And right now, in celebration of the day, Entenmann's is rewarding lucky winners with 'Free Donuts for a Year' in a sweepstakes on their Facebook Page.
 

Look for other free donuts and celebrations in your town!

Here's the original  SALVATION ARMY LASSIES’ DOUGHNUT RECIPE . Not sure about the lard, but it's the original recipe, after all, so historical.


SALVATION ARMY LASSIES' DOUGHNUT RECIPE
Yield: 4 doz. doughnuts

Ingredients
5 cups flour
2 cups sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1 ‘saltspoon’ salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1 Tub lard (!!)

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients (except for lard) to make dough.
Thoroughly knead dough, roll smooth, and cut into rings that are less than 1/4 inch thick. (When finding items to cut out doughnut circles, be creative! Salvation Army doughnut girls used whatever they could find, from baking powder cans to coffee percolator tubes.)
Drop the rings into the lard, making sure the fat is hot enough to brown the doughnuts gradually.
Turn the doughnuts slowly several times.
When browned, remove doughnuts and allow excess fat to drip off.
Dust with powdered sugar. Let cool and enjoy.

WINE AND DONUT PAIRINGS: National Donut Day

Today is National Donut Day, and, yes, you'd be right if you said you already celebrated National Doughnut Day on the first Friday in June. There are actually two days. Today's holiday is a second more or less official Donut Day depending on your sources. According to food holiday historian John Bryan Hopkins, who cataloged several fringe holidays for his site Foodimentary beginning in 2006, mentions of the November Doughnut Day could be found as early as the 1930s in copies of Ladies' Home Journal. Hopkins speculated that the November 5 date is close enough to Veterans Day on November 11 that a retail outlet likely introduced the date to acknowledge their service.

But donuts are good any day, and to celebrate today's holiday I have a guest post from Julissa Arangure-Garcia on pairing donuts with sweet and savory wines!  This post originally appeared on the Shari's Berries blog and shared from Julissa with a new introduction.

JULISSA ARANGURE-GARCIA:

Let’s be honest, wine was made to be paired with desserts. From wine and chocolate pairings to baking with wine (pinot noir chocolate cake anyone?), wine and desserts are a dynamic duo. Get creative at your next party or event and try pairing the sweet notes of a glass of wine with some sugary delicious donut flavors.

Shari’s Berries has the ultimate wine and donut pairings to help you create mouth-watering combinations. The guide also includes an overview of what flavor notes you’ll taste and what personality the combo is best for. Take a look and find which donut and wine pairing was made for you!

Wine and Donut Pairing Guide

Nutella Doughnut Truffles: Donut Day

Today is National Doughnut Day. Actually this is the second National Doughnut Day this year and not to be confused with the June 5 Doughnut Day when many Donut (yes there are also two spellings) shops offer free donuts. So to celebrate today's holiday, I thought I'd post a recipe that originally appeared in The Washington Post in 2013. Be sure and add this Truffle Recipe to the list I posted yesterday on National Candy Day.

Nutella Doughnut Truffles

For this recipe, you can use any plain or glazed cake doughnuts to make these no-bake, cake-pop-like treats.

Ingredients
3 to 4 glazed or plain chocolate cake doughnuts (about 7 ounces total)
2 pinches kosher salt
1/3 cup Nutella
1/3 cup skinned, toasted and chopped hazelnuts, plus more for optional garnish (see NOTE)
8 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces  (70+ cacao)
1/2 tsp vegetable shortening
Flaked sea salt, for optional garnish

Directions
Tear or crumble the doughnuts into penny-size pieces until you have about 3 1/2 cups, letting them fall into mixing bowl as you work. Season with 2 pinches of salt, then gently stir in Nutella in tablespoon increments along with 1/3 cup of nuts, being careful not to break up doughnut pieces too much.
Divide mixture into 9 or 10 equal portions and roll into compact balls. Return to bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until somewhat firm.
Meanwhile, combine chocolate and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on LOW in 20-second increments until melted, stirring after each one. Once mixture is smooth, cool slightly.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set wire cooling rack over it. Working with one chilled doughnut ball at a time, dip balls into chocolate mixture to coat. While they are still wet, sprinkle each one with a few flakes of sea salt and a few pieces of toasted hazelnut.
Place on wire rack until completely set, then transfer to airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve.

NOTE: Toast skinned hazelnuts in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat until lightly browned and fragrant, shaking the pan to avoid scorching. Cool completely before using.

Doughnut Day: Retro Ads & Recipes

National Doughnut (Donut) Day falls on the first Friday in June. That's today! Doughnut Day was created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.

Many American doughnut shops offer free doughnuts on National Doughnut Day. Check out your local donut shop for deals!


In honor of the holiday, and I do appreciate a good doughnut, I'm posting several Retro Ads from the 40s, 50s and 60s for Donuts (however you spell it)! Scroll down for a Crisco Sugar Donut recipe from the Crisco Cookbook.

National Doughnut Day: Free Donuts, History, & Recipe

National Doughnut (Donut) Day falls on the first Friday in June. That's today! Doughnut Day was created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.

Many American doughnut shops offer free doughnuts on National Doughnut Day. Check out the list below--or check with your local donut shop!


National Doughnut Day started as a fund raiser for Chicago's The Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor The Salvation Army "Lassies" of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers.

National Doughnut Day celebrates the doughnut, an edible, ring shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened. This holiday event began in 1938 as a Chicago Salvation Army fundraiser for much needed funds during the depression. The day also recognized special women known as "Doughnut Lassies" who made and served doughnuts to homesick WWI soldiers in France, since doughnuts were thought to be the quintessential American food. Here's a song from a 1918 songbook celebrating doughnuts in WWI.

A doughnut’s just a doughnut, boys, ’til you are “over there,”
And day and night you’re in a trench away in France somewhere;
You get a fresh-made doughnut, seems it comes from heaven above,
That doughnut, boys, reminds you of a slice of mother’s love.”

Doughnuts are popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets. They are usually deep-fried from flour dough, and shaped in rings or flattened spheres that sometimes contain fillings. Other types of batters can also be used, and various toppings and flavorings are used for different types.

For a wonderful entry on Doughnut Day, go to Months of Edible Celebrations for a great discussion of the history and a recipe from Entenmann's Big Book of Baking for Chocolate Cake Donuts, as well as information about The Donut Book by Sally Levitt Steinberg, granddaughter of Adolph Levitt, the inventor of the first doughnut machine (1920). As Louise says in her entry, "Sally brings the doughnut to life." You've got to read this.

And, there are a lot of free doughnuts today!

Krispie Kreme is giving out one free doughnut of any kind, no purchase necessary. (at participating stores)

LaMar's Donuts in Colorado and the Midwest is offering one free doughnut per customer (at participating stores).

Dunkin' Donuts: Buy any drink and they'll throw in a complimentary doughnut (while supplies last)

Shipley Do-Nuts is giving each customer one free do-nut (that's how they spell it!) and a free small coffee.

Tim Horton's is celebrating National Donut Day by handing out one free donut with any purchase mad (one per customer).

Cumberland Farms is giving out one free donut per customer buying a coffee or a "Chill Zone" beverage, all day today!

Honey Dew Donuts will be giving away a free Oreo donut to any customer who buys a medium drink.

Doughnut Plant NYC is giving out a free mini cake donut (one per order while supplies last).

Winn Dixie locations in AL, FL, GA, LA & MS are giving away one free "jumbo" donut hole to customers--one free per guest, per store visit, while supplies last.

Entenmann's Bakery will have a truck and tent in Madison Square Park (NYC) where you can get a free doughnut and coffee, and enter to win free doughnuts for a year.

Look for other free donuts and celebrations in your town!
 

Here's the original  SALVATION ARMY LASSIES’ DOUGHNUT RECIPE . Not sure about the lard, but it's the original recipe, after all, so historical.


SALVATION ARMY LASSIES' DOUGHNUT RECIPE
Yield: 4 doz. doughnuts

Ingredients
5 cups flour
2 cups sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1 ‘saltspoon’ salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1 Tub lard (!!)

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients (except for lard) to make dough.
Thoroughly knead dough, roll smooth, and cut into rings that are less than 1/4 inch thick. (When finding items to cut out doughnut circles, be creative! Salvation Army doughnut girls used whatever they could find, from baking powder cans to coffee percolator tubes.)
Drop the rings into the lard, making sure the fat is hot enough to brown the doughnuts gradually.
Turn the doughnuts slowly several times.
When browned, remove doughnuts and allow excess fat to drip off.
Dust with powdered sugar. Let cool and enjoy.

Retro Doughnut Signs for National Doughnut Day!

Tomorrow is National Doughnut Day. I posted about the history of the holiday, along with a Doughnut recipe, the other day, so today I thought I'd post some Retro Ads and Signs.

 

National Doughnut Day: History & Recipe

National Doughnut (Donut) Day is the first Friday in June. This year it falls on Friday, June 7. That's an extra wait for many who like to kick off the month with free donuts. Doughnut Day was created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.

Many American doughnut shops offer free doughnuts on National Doughnut Day. In 2009, both independent doughnut shops and large national franchises offered free doughnuts in the United States. National Doughnut Day started as a fund raiser for Chicago's The Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor The Salvation Army "Lassies" of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers.

National Doughnut Day celebrates the doughnut, an edible, ring shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened. This holiday event began in 1938 as a Chicago Salvation Army fundraiser for much needed funds during the depression. The day also recognized special women known as "Doughnut Lassies" who made and served doughnuts to homesick WWI soldiers in France, since doughnuts were thought to be the quintessential American food. Here's a song from a 1918 songbook celebrating doughnuts in WWI.

A doughnut’s just a doughnut, boys, ’til you are “over there,”
And day and night you’re in a trench away in France somewhere;
You get a fresh-made doughnut, seems it comes from heaven above,
That doughnut, boys, reminds you of a slice of mother’s love.”

Doughnuts are popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets. They are usually deep-fried from flour dough, and shaped in rings or flattened spheres that sometimes contain fillings. Other types of batters can also be used, and various toppings and flavorings are used for different types.

For a wonderful entry on Doughnut Day, you'll want to go to: Months of Edible Celebrations website. Not only is there a great discussion of the history, but Months of Edible Celebrations includes  a recipe from Entenmann's Big Book of Baking for Chocolate Cake Donuts, as well as information about The Donut Book by Sally Levitt Steinberg, granddaughter of Adolph Levitt, the inventor of the first doughnut machine (1920). As Louise says in her entry, "Sally brings the doughnut to life." You've got to read this.

And, there are a lot of free doughnuts today!

Krispie Kreme is giving out one free doughnut of any kind, no purchase necessary. (at participating stores)

LaMar's Donuts in Colorado and the Midwest is offering one free doughnut per customer (at participating stores)

Dunkin' Donuts: Buy any beverage and they'll throw in a complimentary doughnut (while supplies last)  Dunkin' is also introducing a new sandwich on June 7: the Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich.. Bacon & Fried eggs between a split glazed doughnut that they say is 360 calories. Really??!!

Tim Horton's has a coupon on their Facebook page for a free doughnut with any purchase in U.S. lcoations. Like Tim Horton's and print coupon.

Entenmann's Bakery is donating $1 to the Salvation Army for each person who "likes" the Entemann's Facebook page (up to $30,000). And right now, in celebration of the day, Entenmann's is rewarding lucky winners with 'Free Donuts for a Year' in a sweepstakes on their Facebook Page.
 

Look for other free donuts and celebrations in your town!

Here's the original  SALVATION ARMY LASSIES’ DOUGHNUT RECIPE . Not sure about the lard, but it's the original recipe, after all, so historical.


SALVATION ARMY LASSIES' DOUGHNUT RECIPE
Yield: 4 doz. doughnuts

Ingredients
5 cups flour
2 cups sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1 ‘saltspoon’ salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1 Tub lard (!!)

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients (except for lard) to make dough.
Thoroughly knead dough, roll smooth, and cut into rings that are less than 1/4 inch thick. (When finding items to cut out doughnut circles, be creative! Salvation Army doughnut girls used whatever they could find, from baking powder cans to coffee percolator tubes.)
Drop the rings into the lard, making sure the fat is hot enough to brown the doughnuts gradually.
Turn the doughnuts slowly several times.
When browned, remove doughnuts and allow excess fat to drip off.
Dust with powdered sugar. Let cool and enjoy.

National Doughnut Day: Make mine Chocolate

The first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day celebrating the doughnut, an edible, ring shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened. This holiday event began in 1938 as a Chicago Salvation Army fundraiser for much needed funds during the depression. The day also recognized special women known as "Doughnut Lassies" who made and served doughnuts to homesick WWI soldiers in France, since doughnuts were thought to be the quintessential American food. Here's a song from a 1918 songbook celebrating doughnuts in WWI.

“A doughnut’s just a doughnut, boys, ’til you are “over there,”
And day and night you’re in a trench away in France somewhere;
You get a fresh-made doughnut, seems it comes from heaven above,
That doughnut, boys, reminds you of a slice of mother’s love.”

Read more.

The history of donuts, like so many foods, is debatable. Some believe that Dutch settlers brought doughnut making techniques from Holland. Hostess Donuts were first launched in the 1930's at a time in our history were looking for inexpensive ways to treat themselves. America's favorite doughnut is glazed, followed by chocolate, powdered sugar and plain.
There are 10 billion donuts made every year.

For a wonderful entry about Donut Day, you'll want to go to: Months of Edible Celebrations' website. Not only is there a great discussion of the history, but Months of Edible Celebrations includes recipes from The Donut Book by Sally Levitt Steinberg, granddaughter of Adolph Levitt, the inventor of the first doughnut machine (1920). As Louise says in her entry, "Sally brings the doughnut to life." You've got to read this.

And to celebrate Doughnut Day, several doughnut places have:

Free Donuts (alternative spelling) June 5: National Doughnut Day

Krispy Kreme: Visit a participating Krispy Kreme store for a free donut. One per customer. Fewer and fewer of these stores around these days.

Dunkin' Donuts: Participating stores will be giving away a free donut of your choice with any beverage purchase.

LaMar’s Donuts – Participating stores will be giving a complimentary Ray’s Original Glazed donut to customers in honor of the founder, Ray Lamar. No purchase necessary.

Bashas' in Arizona will be delivering dozens of fresh-baked donuts to police departments in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler and Glendale. They will also donate 10% of their donut sales on Donut Day to the Salvation Army.

Think you know something about donuts? Check out LaMar's Donuts for a quiz on donuts. A donut by any other name? churro (no hole), Beignet (no hole)... they're not donuts to me.

Want to be a bit more upscale with your doughnuts? Many bakeries, specialty shops and restaurants around the U.S. will be offering special doughnuts on June 5. Neal Fraser of Grace Restaurant in Los Angeles is offering a doughnut tasting menu with wine pairing. Sadly no chocolate doughnuts.

Patronize your favorite doughnut shop today! Love to hear where and how you celebrate.

Here's an original Salvation army recipe for Doughnuts (not chocolate), but fun from an historical perspective.