Mmm, DONUTS!

Birthday cakes are so 2017. Stack these bad boys up in a pile, stick in a candle and you’ve got yourself a birthday treat that’s easy to make, but looks almost too good to eat. But don’t let that stop you. Taken from the kitsch new book Donuts, by Vicky Graham (Hardie Grant, £10).

Birthday cake donuts

Ingredients: Makes 12 regular donuts or 24 minis 180g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing tin 180g caster sugar 3 medium eggs 180g sifted self-raising flour 1tsp vanilla bean paste 1tsp baking powder 70g sprinkles (big, chunky and colourful ones are best) extra sprinkles for decoration pinch of salt 2tbsp whole milk (if needed) 300g icing sugar ½tsp vanilla bean paste 30ml whole milk 2 × 12-hole mini donut tin or 2 × 6-hole donut tin

Method 1

Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas 4) and liberally grease the donut tin with butter.

Whisk together the butter and sugar, until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of self-raising flour with each one.

Gently fold in the rest of the flour with the vanilla bean paste, baking powder, sprinkles and salt. Add the milk if it seems stiff.

Pour the mixture into the donut tin, filling each hole around two-thirds of the way up.

Bake in the oven for 12–14 mins, until a skewer or cocktail stick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool before transferring to a wire rack.

To make the icing, place the icing sugar, vanilla bean paste and half of the milk into a bowl and stir. Gradually add the rest of the milk, stirring, until you end up with a smooth mixture.

Carefully dunk each of the cooled donuts into the bowl, until the icing covers it around halfway. Gently pull the donut up, keeping the top down and slowly spinning it around, to let any excess drip back down into the bowl.

Decorate with the sprinkles and stack.