Got a sweet Valentine you’re looking to spoil this year? Try this whimsical wonder: stacked four-high, these Red Hot Velvet Donuts make the perfect two-serving “cake.” No joke! This over-the-top treat is like a cross between rich Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake and luscious Red Velvet—sweet with a bit of spice. Of course, you could always enjoy one “layer” on its own with a cup o’ coffee, but we recommend stacking them sky-high, because, why not? It’s time to celebrate!

Ingredients:
 – 1 cup all purpose flour

– 1 teaspoon cinnamon

– 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

– 3 tablespoon cocoa powder

– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

– 1/4 teaspoon salt

– 1/2 cup sugar

– 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

– 1 egg

– 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

– 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

– 1 1/2 teaspoons red velvet emulsion or

– 1 teaspoon vanilla + red gel food color

For the Pink Almond Glaze:
 – 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

– 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

– 1/2 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice or pink food gel color

– 3-4 tablespoons milk, or until slightly runny consistency

For the Dark Chocolate Glaze:
 – 1/4 cup heavy cream

– 2 tablespoons corn syrup

– 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

– 3 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

– 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Instructions:

1. To make the donuts, pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare donut pan and set aside.

2. Sift together flour, cinnamon, cayenne, cocoa, salt, and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in the sugar.

3. Combine egg and yogurt together and mix into the dry ingredients.

4. Stir in the melted butter and red velvet emulsion.

5. Combine baking soda and vinegar together. Stir into the batter until combined.

6. Place batter in a pastry bag fitted with a round piping tip and pipe batter into the pan, about 2/3 full.

7. Bake 7-9 minutes. Rest on a cooling rack until cool enough to de-pan.

8. To make the Pink Almond Glaze, combine all ingredients together. Add more or less milk so that the consistency is fairly thin.

9. While donuts are still slightly warm, dip tops into the glaze. Invert donut and let drip-dry on a cooling rack.

10. To make the Dark Chocolate Glaze, place cream, corn syrup, and cocoa in a medium sauce pan. Heat over medium-low until cream begins to steam and cocoa begins to dissolve. Stir to combine.

11. Remove from heat and add in the chopped chocolate. Let stand 30 seconds then whisk to combine in melted chocolate.

12. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Let cool before drizzling over donuts.

13. Once glaze has set slightly, stack into donut cakes. Use decorative flags to help stabilize the layers while you stack them sky-high!

As you can see above, we give you the low-down on how to make your very own fluffy donut batter. But if you’re having trouble squeezing baking into your list of to-do Valentine’s Day prep, you can always pick up a box of plain Krispy Kremes and trust us, we wouldn’t tell. But seriously—seriously—make this glaze.

It’s pretty simple: combine powdered sugar, almond extract, and maraschino cherry juice with milk until its consistency is ever so thin, then dunk until your heat’s content (if you’re doing this with freshly baked donuts, make sure they’re still slightly warm for this.) Then, let them cool on a rack while you whip up the finishing touch, aka the dark chocolate glaze.

Once you’ve whisked your chocolatey mixture, let it cool before you generously drizzle it over your donuts. Just move the bowl back and forth over the entire sheet pan so that your drizzles look super pro.

Now for the best part: building your donut cake. You could stack one on top of the other and cross your fingers they stay in place, or you can use decorated cake dowels to keep your stash stacked (read: do this! You can even scroll through this post to find super cute printables to use as cake toppers!)

See what we mean? So pretty…but not pretty enough to NOT want to eat ;)

This unconventional cake is perfect for sharing. Dig in, Valentine!

What’s the craziest cake you’ve ever made? Tell us in the comments below!

Tessa Huff
Tessa Huff is a specialty chef and food stylist who urrently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia where she practices both classic and contemporary pastry techniques, recipe development and food photography. Find her at Style Sweet CA .