Half and Half Donut Bread

Are you Team Cinnamon Sugar or Team Powdered Sugar?

My spicy five year old and I have been butting heads more than usual lately. His desire to live an independent rock star lifestyle and my desire to have him go to sleep at a decent hour are often at odds.

A few weeks ago, he asked if we could bake something together after dinner. To be honest, I was very not in the mood. I had already made and cleaned up a mountain of dishes earlier that day and adding more to the stack was not on my bingo card for the night.

But, I also knew he and I would both benefit from some positive connection, so we dragged a chair over to the counter and picked out a recipe together. He chose a donut quick bread from the Midwest Made cookbook, one of my favorites when I’m looking for a nostalgic dessert for a party or just for us.

The bread comes together pretty quickly (even with a kid measuring/spilling/licking/splattering), and wow, what a delight it turned out to be! I never regret spending time together in the kitchen, but especially not when the results are so delicious.

One bite of this powdered sugar dusted loaf will instantly transport you back to childhood. The powdered sugar is a hot mess that get son everything. We all had rings of it around our mouths and hand prints of it dusted on our pants, but oh, it was so worth it to be whisked back to being 10 years old, munching on powdered donuts with your besties after a giggly, up-to-late sleepover.

This is truly a quick bread! It comes together in about 15 minutes, but I must insist you don’t skip the freshly grated nutmeg. Take one bite, and you’ll understand–the nutmeg, oddly enough, is what makes this taste like a donut!

You can buy whole nutmeg at most grocery stores and use a microplane to quickly grate it. The extra nutmeg is fabulous grated over Homemade Eggnog (the best) or used in Pumpkin Coffee Cake.

The original recipe called only for a powdered sugar coating, but because it’s fall and orchard donut season, Gus and I decided we needed to try it with cinnamon sugar as well. No regrets there! Feel free to use one or the other, or make a half and half bread like we did here. There’s something for everyone with this one.

Half and Half Donut Bread

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups all purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

14 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup full fat buttermilk (or 1 Tablespoon vinegar + whole milk to make 1 cup)

For the topping:

3 Tablespoons melted butter

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grab a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and spray it with cooking spray or grease with butter. Cut a piece of parchment paper into a strip as wide as the long edge of the pan. Press the parchment into the bottom and up the sides so it overhangs the side and creates a sling.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 2 ¾ cups flour, 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together 14 Tablespoons of butter and 1 cup granulated sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down occasionally. It really does take that long to properly cream butter and sugar. Here’s a video with more info and visuals!

4. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well after addition. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

5. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and 1 cup buttermilk in 5 alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour. So it’s flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour. Finish stirring by hand, making sure to scrape the bottom well. The batter will be very thick.

6. Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It is normal for there to be cracks in the top.

7. Allow the bread to cool for 10-15 minutes, then use the parchment sling to lift it from the pan and on to a wire rack. Cool for a little while longer, until the bread is not hot, but still warm.

8. Brush the bread on all sides with melted butter. If you want to make both kinds of bread, slice it in half. Sift powdered sugar on half of a large baking sheet, then place the bread on top. Sift additional powdered sugar on the top and sides. 

9. Whisk together cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle it on the other half of the baking sheet. Place the bread on top, then sprinkle with more cinnamon and sugar and turn it to coat the sides.