These donuts were a true trial and error situation. On Friday I made two batches, the first one was way too watery and the batter ended up bubbling all over the doughnut pan, creating a mess and half, while also giving me little hope for trying again. On the second try, I made the batter way too sweet, but a little thicker than the first try, so I still has hope for that batch. Again, after ten minutes in the oven, I expectantly pulled open the oven door, peeked in, and found that…they had risen and fallen into an ugly mass of overblown doughnut batter. Dang it. At this point, I had to leave for the day and wouldn’t be able to try out another attempt until Sunday, which ended up being for the best. I guess I just needed to let the recipe roll around in my head a bit and work out the kinks, because on the third try I finally had success! The key was making sure the batter was dense enough to make for a solid doughnut, while still maintaining the spice mixture I had envisioned for this recipe.

If you don’t love ginger, I would forgo the chopped crystallized ginger on top, but I think it adds just a little extra crunch and sweetness. I was lucky enough that my fiance happened to pick some up for me while I was gone over the weekend, so it ended up being a pretty and perfect addition to top these doughnuts. If you haven’t yet invested in a donut pan, I’m sure the batter can easily be used for muffins too.