Create fresh and warm delicious donuts in the comfort of your kitchen with this Mini Donut Maker by Chef Buddy. This home donut machine bakes your miniature tasty treats instead of deep frying like common coffee shops, creating a healthier version of a variety of favorite classics including glazed, frosted with sprinkles, and even gluten-free or vegan varieties. The quality nonstick surface makes it easy to pop out up to 7 mini donuts in a snap, making this doughnut maker great for a party, as a unique gift, or for a fun activity to do with kids.
1) Functioned as detailed. Green indicator light (pic 1) is on top and bottom, function is backwards by USA standards--green goes OFF when ready to use and when 'baking', instead of ON. Red light stays on while plugged in. Feet on top & bottom, suggesting you should turn it over during cooking but that is NOT stated in directions or included recipe. Unit heats up on the outside.
2) Heavy steam escapes from sides. Would NOT let a youngster near it while'baking'
3) Donuts are truly mini, ~1-1/2 diameter (think small chocolate chip cookie size or Entenmann's USA mini donuts) (pic 2)
4) Directions are sparse... no quantity per donut mold listed. I used ~ 2-1/2 to 3 rounded tsp each.
5) Using the Simple Mills Almond Flour Baking Mix Banana Bread & Muffin Mix (USA; Gluten-free), whole foods mix and no artificial ingredients, followed the Bread Loaf recipe. 3 to 3-1/2" was plenty of time to bake. Makes ~4 batches + 3 extra donuts. I used EVOO for the oil. Yes, even "donuts" can be healthy!
6) Used the last 'batch' of 3 to try turning the unit over, at 1" of baking time. Donuts came out more evenly browned.
7) Made the 5 batches but only oiled (NOT SPRAYED) with EVOO before the first batch. No sticking issues. (Pic 4)
8) The batter starts heating and rising quickly, so filling the molds should be accomplished as quickly as possible. Piping bag or spouted glass measuring cup would be faster than spooning batter in. My bread mix is thicker than a cake mix batter, so need to help it pour with a spoon or knife to control speed and volume poured.
9) If your batter covers the donut hole-maker, just push it off and into the mold.
10) Must close the lid quickly or the rising (pic 3) will cover the hole-maker and reduce the volume inside the mold.
11) Unit does stand on end to store, however: There is NO latch, the sides open ~1/4", and the cord must be placed in particular way.
12) 'Error queueing photo for crunching.') --prevented from a few uploading photos.
13) The mold plate edges are not sealed (pic 5), there is 1/8-1/4" space that allows mixtures or fluids to drip into /enter the top and the base.There is no way to clean that, so one "oopsie" misstep and your unit will need discarding.
14) Claims you need to make sure a "latch" is engaged in order to close before baking. THERE IS NO LATCH, inside or outside.
CHEAP JUNK from Communist China!
Will we keep it?
Yes.
Why?
1) We purchased it for use while traveling and camping (with electric hookup). 2)Can make mixture, make 1 batch, chill mixture and make a batch nightly as a fresh treat or as a healthy snack, or dessert to pack with lunch for outings.
3)The wattage is low enough to be used in the camper, and in any 15amp receptacle.
4)The unit is compact, taking up minimal storage space. 5)Easily cleaned. 6) The banana bread donuts were good7) The unit eliminated the need to bake for 1 hour in the propane oven, or a toaster oven if you can find one that has low enough wattage but strong enough heating (tent/camper/motel) to bake. 8) Gluten-free baking is very finicky; that we can avoid the allergen issue, use a healthy dry mix to which we add the healthy wet ingredients that we already stock AND mix it with just a dinner fork in a Corelle USA bowl that we already carry with us, & save precious ice chest/refrigerator space when camping, easy cleanup using little water, time saver so we're not stuck at the site/room (3" vs 1 hour!), IS GOLDEN to us.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Even with the negatives, this unit will meet our needs and fulfill the mission for which we purchased. Trying the Simple Mills brownie mix next time!
I suspect BUT have not yet attempted, that following the muffin recipe would create lighter, fluffier donuts (think glazed puffs). We desired a cake like donut, which is what happened using the bread loaf recipe. ALSO, I see no reason why biscuits or cornbread mixes couldn't be used. We'll test these hypotheses later, ourselves !. Theresa. FL. 2021-09-12 15:06:59
