It’s Wednesday.

Ugh.

This time I wore pants.

That’s all I got.

…except these 😉

Key Lime Donuts with Vanilla Bean Salted Caramel & Toasted Pecans

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 3 oz. sour cream
• 3 oz. key lime curd
• 1/3 cup Persian Lime Olive Oil – Can substitute with unflavored EVOO
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp. key lime juice
• zest from one lime

Vanilla Bean Salted Caramel – As published on Barefeet in the Kitchen

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 vanilla beans, about 1/2 teaspoon scraped seeds OR 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• *Toasted coconut & pecans for garnish

       

For the donuts:

In a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add egg, sour cream, curd, lime oil, buttermilk milk, key lime juice and lime zest just until moist. Pour batter into a pastry bag or gallon Ziplock bag if a pastry bag is not available. Snip the corner of the Ziploc and pipe the batter into donut pans. Bake 10-12 minutes at 325. Flip out of pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the Caramel:

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar and the water. Stir to combine and then cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves; about 5 minutes. There is no need to stir, simply swirl the pan over the burner occasionally as the sugar dissolves.

Raise the heat to medium high and cook the sauce, swirling the pan occasionally, until it is amber-colored; about 7-8 minutes. (It will go from amber to burnt in just moments, so keep a close eye on the pan!) Add the butter, be prepared for it to bubble and sputter, lightly stir or swirl to melt, do not scrape the sides of the pan or splash sauce up the sides of the pan. (This will cause crystallization, if you scrape the uncooked sugars back into the sauce.)

Once the butter is melted, remove from the heat and add the vanilla beans, heavy cream and salt. It will bubble again, but will calm quickly. Whisk or stir to combine (again, not scraping sides of the pan) and then let cool before transferring to a jar and refrigerating for storage. Enjoy!

To complete the donuts:

Drizzle salted caramel sauce over doughnuts and top with toasted Coconut and Pecans if desired.