Mary-Frances Heck knows what the, uh, heck she's doing in the kitchen, and some pretty big-deal publications agree. The much-loved chef, editor, and writer has created recipes for Bon Appetit, Saveur, Cooking Light, Lucky Peach, and plenty of your other favorite food magazines, and for her newest solo effort, she's focused on just one ingredient: the humble sweet potato. Heck's new book, Sweet Potatoes: Roasted, Loaded, Fried, and Made Into Pies celebrates all the delicious possibilities of this versatile superfood. We've grabbed the recipe for her easy-bake cinnamon-spiced, orange-glazed cake doughnuts that'll make any morning just sweet as can be.
Sweet Potato Cake Doughnuts
These crunchy cake doughnuts come together in a snap and are so delicious. Roast a couple of extra sweet potatoes the night before you want to make the doughnuts, and the dough will come together quicker than a bowl of cereal.
This puree is part of a well-stocked freezer, as it can be adapted endlessly in many recipes or eaten as a quick, nukeable side dish. By cooking the sweet potatoes without salt, you end up with a versatile base ingredient that can be dressed simply with butter and salt, or added to many baked goods and sweets.
Reprinted from Sweet Potatoes. Copyright © 2017 by Mary-Frances Heck. Photographs copyright © 2017 by Kristin Teig. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
How to Make It
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray three 6-count doughnut pans with nonstick cooking spray.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Put the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and add cool water to cover by 1 inch. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potatoes are fully tender about 15 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes, reserving the cooking liquid.
Make the glaze: Put the confectioners’ sugar in a bowl, add the orange juice, and stir until all of the sugar is dissolved and the glaze is smooth and pourable.