"Sprinkled with Love" Donut Baby Shower

If you read our blog regularly, you know we have a slight obsession with donuts! So of course we had to come up with a donut illustration and we had the perfect occasion to do so! Our sweet friend Katie is pregnant with her second baby girl and we really wanted to do something special for her...so we decided to throw her a little baby shower. Baby showers for second babies are called "sprinkles", so we wanted to play off of the theme “sprinkled with Love”! We also wanted the shower to include Siena, Katie’s daughter, to help get her excited about being a big sister!

We thought it would be really fun to have a donut tasting bar. We set out plain and flavored donut holes from a local bakery on a long white plate. On each side of the donuts we set up jars with homemade caramel and hot fudge sauces and apothecary jars with chocolate chips and toasted coconut. We created a little “donut bar” sign to set on the table as well. We also set up a three-tiered pedestal with graham crackers, pretzels, marshmallows and strawberries so that people could use the sauces as fondu if they wanted to.



We also made mini cupcakes with pink buttercream and a mini donut on top! At the ends of the table we set up “donut” shaped cookies that were pink with white sprinkles, we placed them next to pink bags that we glued doilies onto, so that everyone could take one home...(or eat it there if they wanted.) As another take home gift we made mini jars filled with caramel and hot fudge sauces with one of our “sprinkled donut” tags that read, “thank you for sprinkling Katie and Siena with much love”. We also created a “Sprinkled with Love” letter garland to hang across the front of the table.






We made fabric covered embroidery hoops in the color scheme of Katie’s nursery to create a backdrop for the table. (We let her take them home after the shower so she could hang them in the nursery) We also used some of the fabric as a runner on the table to offset the white table cloth and used the rest of the fabric to cover the mini sauce jars that everyone took home. We used lace and pink ribbon to tie around mason jars with pink and white polka dot straws filled with pink lemonade for the kids. We also got disposable coffee cups and tied an elastic ruffle ribbon around them and put a donut circle tag on them for the adults to have their coffee out of.



We served really simple plates of fresh vegetables and assorted cheeses, crackers and candied nuts.

We made Katie a corsage to wear out of paper flowers so that she could save it in her baby book!
Katie’s sister, Becky was recently married and Katie created the most gorgeous ruffle garland backdrop for a photo booth at her wedding. So Becky brought the gorgeous backdrop with her and a chalkboard. We all took turns writing a note to the baby on the chalkboard and Becky took photos of us so that Katie could save the photos for her baby book! It was such a fun idea and great way to remember that special day!




Pink bags and pink and white polka dot straws: Sweet Lulu
Mini donuts on to pof cupcakes: Dough a Deer
Paper coffee cups: Think Garnish
Paper party goods: Icing Designs
Photography: Becky Hill Photography and Icing Designs

S'mores Doughnuts

We are huge fans of Helene Dujardin and her lovely blog Tartelette! And, you may already know about our obsession with doughnuts, right!?! Last year, Helene featured a recipe by Lara Ferroni from her book "Doughnuts: Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home"! Now, this doughnut took our obsession to an entirely new level! Yes folks, we are talking about S'mores doughnuts! Genius right...combining fried dough with chocolate, graham cracker and marshmallow...how can you go wrong!?! Helene and Lara were gracious enough to let us share the photos and recipe with you! We hope you will also pick up a copy of Lara's book...the recipes and photos will turn anyone you know into a doughnut lover in no time at all!

S'Mores Doughnuts

Makes 8 to 12

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
10 graham crackers, finely crushed
2 teaspoons superfine sugar
1 batch Basic Raised dough (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon milk or water
twelve 1-ounce squares milk or dark chocolate
48 mini marshmallows

Stir together 3 tablespoons of the melted butter, graham crackers and sugar. Cover and set aside.

Prepare the dough as directed through the proofing stage. Roll the dough to just a bit more than 1/4 -inch thick. Cut into 3-inch diameter rounds. Roll out half of the rounds to about a 3 1/4-inch diameter. To assemble, lightly brush each wider round with the milk or water and place a square of chocolate and 4 mini marshmallows in the center of each. Top with the smaller rounds and lightly pinch to seal. Then recut with the same cutter to seal the edges.

Fry the doughnuts as directed and let cool for only 3 minutes. Brush each doughnut with a little melted butter, then dip into the graham cracker mixture. Serve immediately.

Basic Raised Dough:

3 tablespoons (22grams) active dry yeast, divided
1 cup of whole milk, heated to 110ºF, divided
2 to 2 1/2 cups bread flour, divided
2 tablespoons (30 grams) superfine sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
½ stick (4 tablespoons / 2 oz) unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
vegetable oil for frying

In a medium bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of the yeast into ¾ cup of the milk. Add ¾ cup of flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Combine the remaining milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the rested flour mixture along with the sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Turn off the mixer and add ½ cup of the remaining flour. Mix on low for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until it becomes incorporated, about 30 seconds. Switch to a dough hook and add more flour, about ¼ cup at a time with the mixer turned off, kneading the dough at medium speed between additions, until the dough pulls completely away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky. It will be very soft and moist, but not so sticky that you can’t roll it out. You may have flour left over. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 12 hours).

Line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry dish towel. Roll out the dough on a slightly floured surface to ½ inch thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter (can use a glass, too) cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes (for filled doughnuts, don’t cut out the holes).

Place the doughnuts on the baking sheet at least 1 inch apart and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm spot to proof until they almost double in size, 5 to 20 minutes, testing at five-minute intervals. To test whether the dough is ready, touch lightly with a fingertip. If it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If it springs back slowly, it is ready. If it does not spring back at all, it has overproofed; no worries- you can punch it down and re-roll it once.

While the doughnuts are proofing, heat a heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2 inches of oil until a thermometer registers 360F. With a metal spatula, carefully place the doughnuts in the oil. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a wire rack over a paper towel, and let cool before glazing.

Doughnut Tasting Party!

A doughnut tasting party!?! Yes, you heard us right, a doughnut tasting part! Ok, so I have to admit donuts have actually become a joke between Kellie and I! But I just have a thing for doughnuts, I can't explain it. Its like they have a hold on me. I can not drive past a doughnut store, without the thought of pulling in and ordering a dozen, crossing my mind! I don't mean a dozen to take home and share with my family either, I mean a dozen for me to eat in the car on my way home! When Kellie and I were in NY pretty much the only thing I bought when we went shopping was a doughnut pan! I know, I know...is there counseling for this!?! So you came imagine my excitement when we came across this doughnut tasting party! I mean obviously the person that came up with the was a pure genius! So the concept of this party was to sample differnt kinds of doughnuts and rate them on the pretty stationary! What could be better...really!?!

Found on: somewheresplendid.com
Photos: Tinywater Photography
Stationery: Alice Koswara
Flowers: Botanica Floral Designs
Doughnuts: Dynamo Doughnuts