Happy National Donut Day!  I love it that we’ve dedicated certain days in the year to honoring our favorite foods, not just Donut Day but also ones like National Bacon Day, Pizza Day, and even Crab Stuffed Flounder Day.  It makes me wonder, when did people first think of having these kinds of holidays, and were they meant for full-on Mother’s-Day-like celebration, some form of food marketing strategy, or just a day when we can simply give ourselves a bit more right to indulge?
I personally think donuts are too good to even need a day for us to appreciate them, but either way, it’s time to seize the occasion and put my donut pan to good use.

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These baked donuts are rich and cakey, and their nutty black sesame flavor is the perfect match for the gorgeous swirls of chocolaty, sweet Nutella that grace their tops.  The idea of combining black sesame with Nutella came to me one day when I was making a Nutella sandwich for myself and spontaneously thought of adding in some black sesame spread that I happened to have on hand.  It sounded slightly unusual at first, considering that these days black sesame seems quite often only paired generically in Asian American desserts with matcha green tea or red bean, and not mixed as commonly with chocolate or hazelnut.  But it was definitely worth the experiment!
The end product was not only yummy but also turned out looking better than I expected.  I anticipated that the Nutella blobs would sink down and become like a filling within the donuts, kind of fearing that the outsides of the donuts would be left looking somewhat boring and bleak, but they rose along with the batter and left a lovely icing-like effect, even forming a bit of a sugary-pasty crust.

Currently I’ve been enjoying these as a breakfast treat, because I like to dunk my baked donuts in coffee or milk, but as always you can enjoy these in any way you like.
And maybe it’s just me, but I also really love how cool and exotic black donuts look, especially with pretty little brown swirls on top Enjoy!!

Baked Black Sesame Nutella Donuts     –     makes 6 donuts

– 1/3 cup melted butter
– 1/3 cup sugar
– 1/4 cup honey
– 1 egg
– 1 cup all-purpose flour
– 3/4 tsp. baking powder
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 1/2 cup black sesame powder*
– 1/3 cup milk
– 1/4 cup Nutella, or other chocolate spread of choice

In a medium bowl, beat together the melted butter, sugar, honey, and egg until smooth and incorporated.  Separately combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and black sesame powder.  Sift roughly a third of the dry mixture into the wet, stir, and then mix in about half of the milk.  Sift in half of the remaining flour (another third), mix, and then add in the rest of the milk, followed by the rest of the flour.  Stir just until combined and no lumps of flour remain.  Divide the batter evenly into a greased 6-well donut pan.  Place the Nutella into a small microwaveable bowl and microwave it for 20 to 30 seconds until softened and slightly runnier.  Use the tip of a knife to scoop small blobs and swirl them roughly throughout the batter in each donut cavity.  Bake the donuts in a preheated oven at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes until they spring back to the touch.  Allow to cool and serve.

*Black sesame powder should be available at most Asian supermarkets, sometimes sold with the powdered soup and drink mixes, but if you can get a hold of it, feel free to use whole black sesame seeds or try grinding them yourself in a food processor.