Amaretti Pumpkin Donuts With Espresso Icing

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I’m actually speechless right now.

I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing these donuts are.

How can I describe them? What about this…

Almond-scented pumpkin spice baked donuts with Vanilla Amaretti-spiked icing and sprinkled with crunchy, toasted amaretti crumble.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a mouthful, so don’t worry about giving these little beauties some sort of elegant title and instead, just look at them!

You could not say no to one of these (or even the whole stack!), right? Yeah, didn’t think so. Neither could I.

So, what goes into this batch of baked donuts? Well, we’ll need some pumpkin. I roasted and pureed my own pumpkin (because Libby’s does not exist in Australia), but feel free to use canned pure pumpkin instead. You’ll need some pumpkin spices, as well as some almond aroma/extract. I used almond aroma, which was supplied by Nespresso for inspiration. Almond aroma is a very thick, syrupy consistency and white in color. Use just a little bit, as a little bit of almond flavoring goes a long way. You’ll also need a donut baking pan for mini donuts.

We’ll also need a capsule of Vanilla Amaretti, which has been extracted in a Nespresso machine and cooled to room temperature, for the icing. If you don’t have this flavor, or don’t use a Nespresso machine, use a couple of tablespoons of brewed, strong coffee instead.

Lastly, amaretti biscuits. Homemade or store-bought is fine. Here, I have a confession. I didn’t actually use real amaretti biscuits; our local store didn’t have any. I used almond fingers instead, which is a soft sort of oblong-shaped biscuit with a single almond poked into the middle. No matter what kind of almond biscuit you use, we need to crumble them up into just a bit larger than breadcrumb-sized (some bigger chunks are fine, too) and toast them until they’re golden and crunchy.

Now we have all three components for our donuts. Ice the baked donuts when they’re completely cool, and immediately sprinkle with the toasted amaretti crumble. Let the donuts sit for an hour or so for the icing to completely set and ta-da! You now have one heck of a gourmet-looking donut! Take a bite!

Enjoy!

**I was not compensated for this post, however, I did receive free samples to review and create some yummy recipes with. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

Amaretti Pumpkin Donuts With Espresso Icing

Almond-scented pumpkin spice baked donuts with Vanilla Amaretti-spiked icing and sprinkled with crunchy, toasted amaretti crumble.

Author: Love & Custard | Jamieanne

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12

Ingredients

For the donuts:
240g plain flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon ginger
60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
60ml whole milk, room temperature
60ml Greek yoghurt, room temperature
110g pumpkin puree
125g light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond aroma/extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
For the icing:
1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons Vanilla Amaretti capsule, extracted and cooled
For the amaretti crumble:
Big handful amaretti biscuits

Instructions

For the donuts: Preheat oven to 180C. Spray/grease 2 mini donut baking pans and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, milk, yoghurt, pumpkin puree, sugar, vanilla and almond aroma/extract until well combined. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until combined and smooth.
Carefully pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and gently stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Be extra careful not to overmix or the donuts will turn out dry and tough.
Fill a piping bag with the batter and carefully pipe into the donut pan, making sure not to overfill each ring. You'll have some leftover batter, which you can use for a third batch if you wish.
Bake the donuts for 9-10 minutes, until they spring back when lightly touched. Do not overbake!
Remove the pan from the oven and allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Carefully turn them out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
For the amaretti crumble: Process a big handful of amaretti biscuits in a food processor until they are a bit bigger than the size of breadcrumbs - some bigger chunks are fine.
Pour the biscuit crumble onto a large baking-paper lined baking tray and bake in a 180C-preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, occasionally tossing/stirring the crumble to allow for even toasting, or until lightly golden.
Remove the tray from the oven and allow the crumble to cool completely.
For the icing: In a small bowl, whisk together sifted icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of the extracted Vanilla Amaretti until completely combined. If the icing is too thick, add a little more of the coffee until a thick, but runny and dippable consistency is achieved (you'll need to have it a bit on the thick-side so the icing won't just drip off the donuts).
Dip the tops of the completely cooled donuts into the icing, gently shaking off the excess. Immediately sprinkle the icing with the toasted amaretti crumble. Place back on the wire rack. Let the donuts set for about 30-60 minutes to allow the icing to firm up.
These donuts taste best on the same day, but can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a couple of days.