Mini Doughnut Cereal

TikTok.

I'm likely too old for it, but I don't care. I LOVE it. The tips, tricks, hacks, and random knowledge I've learned from this app are astounding. Everything from home decor to baking to school tutoring to fixing my bathroom drain, its got it. Did you know that if you were born in the 1970s, you have lived through six decades, two centuries, two millennia, and you aren't even 50 yet? Thank you, TikTok. 

My daughter and I created an account at the height of the pandemic as a way to record our homeschool home economics projects. We only created a few videos because I soon found I enjoyed watching videos rather than making them. It's a lot of work and I give an emphatic hat tip to those that create videos that are engaging, hilarious, and entertaining. 

I wanted to share a few choice content creators I follow and why I enjoy them. If you don't care, just scroll to the bottom for the doughnut cereal recipe. I'm really sorry I don't have a Jump To Recipe button. Blogger isn't the best at offering these options. 

Christian:

These are my favourite Christian TikTok creators. I love them for the stories they share about Jesus Christ. My faith is very important to me and I enjoy learning from them and picking their brains for more information. 

@007gandolf 

@jaleinabania

@justin.brierley

Lifestyle:

@sejsejila - Her name is Cecelia and she lives on Svalbard an island close to the North Pole. I have never wanted to live on an island close to the North Pole as much as I do because of her account. Her account makes me pine for Norway even more with every video she posts. We're coming out of the Polar Night with her, which is 2.5 months/24 hours a day of complete darkness. It's been exciting. 

@ballehurns - Halle Burns is a twentyish-year-old SUPER adorable, soft-spoken vegan that highlights super quick and easy vegan recipes but showcases her thrift store finds too. She is the absolute cutest. 

@her.atlas - Caitlin Atlas is an American living in Japan. I believe she is a teacher, but I follow for all the fun and exciting food she finds at 7-Eleven, convenience stores, and vending machines in the most random areas of her neighbourhood. I've also learned some Japanese words from her. 

@thetrashwalker - Anna Sacks is essentially a dumpster diver, but with bags of garbage. She rummages through a plethora of trash and recyclables on the streets of NYC. She will pick through the garbage of businesses as well. She educates what should be recycled, what is not, and how companies will demand employees to throw out or destroy perfectly good food, clothing, stationery, and home goods instead of donating to local charities or organizations. Her hauls and finds are incredible. She will also go through this treasure trash and lay it out so it's aesthetically pleasing in hopes someone will take it home. It almost always goes. 

@texasbeeworks - Erika Thompson is brilliant. I have never wanted to be a beekeeper more since I discovered her account. I have learned so much about bee and bee behaviour. She's amazing. 

@museumoflostmemories - This person buys old yearbooks, photos, film, VHS tapes and posts them on the account in hopes of finding the owners or people that may know them. I can't watch without feeling nostalgic or quite sad that these memories were once a happy occasion. The music they use doesn't help to subdue my emotions either. 

@trademeproject - Demi Skipper set out to trade a bobby pin for a house. Her journey has been, in a word, remarkable, and so fun to follow along with. I really do hope she gets that house. 

@candyfunhouse - ALL THE SNACKS, friends. CANDY. CHOCOLATE. COOKIES. CHIPS. They have it all and I want it. 

@foodies - FOOD, friends. ALL THE FOOD. 

@visit - One word: WANDERLUST.  I miss traveling so much, it actually hurts. 

Comedy:

@flossybaby - She tells it like it is, and most of the time, I'm thinking the same thing. She makes me actually LOL. And I don't ever say LOL, but she does. 

@sheenamelwani - HER DAD. He needs to be protected at all costs. That is all I will say. 

@mrsbritnicole - She creates POV skits of fictitious, toxic in-laws, namely the MIL. It makes you want to punch these awful non-existent in-laws square in the jaw. 

@drew_talbot - He accurately creates hilarious POV skits of working in a busy upscale restaurant.  

@jeenie_weenie - She creates POV skits about her time working as a flight attendant. 

@cheesedaily - This one is wild. If you head to her account, be sure to scroll all the way back and start there - don't start at the most recent one or you'll ruin it for yourself.  She gets progressively funnier as the story unfolds.

My daughter saw mini doughnut cereal on one of the accounts and flipped. We searched the internet and found this easy version from Tasty. This recipe calls for a boxed cake mix and a steady hand to freeform them - no special pans required. 

Because who doesn't want an excuse to eat cake for breakfast? 

MINI DOUGHNUTS CEREAL *

For the doughnuts:

1 box vanilla cake mix

½ cup water

¼ cup neutral oil, like canola or vegetable oil

1 large egg

For the glaze:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons meringue powder

4 tablespoons water

½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Prepare a piping bag with a smaller round tip (I used Ateco tip #803) Fill a small bowl of water and keep this handy. Note: If you're using parchment paper, be sure to pipe a small blob of batter on the underside of each corner of the paper to prevent it from sliding around while piping. 

In a medium bowl, mix together all the doughnut ingredients using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. The batter will be thick. Once combined, scoop the batter into the prepared piping bag and twist to secure it so the batter doesn't ooze out the top. 

There are two ways to pipe these doughnuts. I've tried them both and I didn't notice too much of a difference aside from one method gives more control and therefore will yield a more uniform size of each finished doughnut (HINT: It's Method B).

METHOD A: Pipe small circles a little larger than the size of a quarter into the shape of a mini doughnut onto the prepared baking sheets as uniformly as possible. Wet a finger and gently blot down any peaks or ridges that may form. The cake batter doesn't spread too much, so you can pipe them close together. 

METHOD B: Pipe blobs the size of a quarter onto your prepared baking sheets. Wet a finger and gently blot down any peaks that may form. The cake batter doesn't spread too much, so you can pipe them close together. Once the doughnuts are baked and while still warm, use a thick straw to poke a hole into and through the center of the doughnut. The glaze and sprinkles will hide any imperfections if any. 

Bake for 8-9 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and give them a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool. 

To make the glaze:

In a mixing bowl, sift confectioners' sugar and meringue powder together. Add in water and vanilla extract and whisk until silky and smooth. Divide glaze into small, shallow bowls and add in a few drops of food colouring of your choice to the shade you desire. Mix this well. You can then either spoon the glaze over the doughnuts or, if you're a bit more of a perfectionist like I am, dip the tops of doughnuts, allow the excess frosting to drip off before inverting and placing onto a wire rack. Immediately add sprinkles if using. We also sprayed edible glitter for pizazz.

Allow these to completely dry before eating. Our glaze dried in about two hours.

VERDICT: It's a cute concept. This recipe made about a hundred of these mini doughnuts. I'm sure it goes without saying, but do not pour the milk unless you're ready to eat. The longer it sits in milk, the quicker it will break down. My kids did eat every bite, even when it began to disintegrate. My son said it had the same texture as overnight oats. Would I make it again? I would for special occasions, like a birthday. We had fun. 

* SOURCE: Recipe adapted and modified from Tasty.