Red Bean Baked Doughnuts

The 140 g of paste stays refrigerated while the rest of the recipe is prepared. For the dry mixture, 180 g of cake flour, 6 g of baking powder, and 70 g of sugar are sifted together, then whisked briefly so the leavening is not concentrated in one area. A separate bowl holds one egg, 150 ml of milk, 45 g of melted unsalted butter, and 2 ml of vanilla. The melted butter is allowed to become lukewarm before it reaches the egg, avoiding direct contact between a hot liquid and the raw egg. The wet mixture is poured into the dry ingredients and folded from the bottom with a spatula. Mixing stops as soon as no dry flour remains rather than continuing to beat a batter that has already combined. Each cavity in the doughnut pan is filled about halfway before a portion of cold red bean paste is placed in the center. Keeping that paste away from the edges gives the remaining batter room to cover it on every side. More batter is spooned over until the filling is no longer visible. The doughnuts bake at 180°C for 12-15 minutes. Lightly golden tops that return after a gentle press are the readiness cues. They remain in the pan for 5 minutes, which gives the baked rings time to settle before they are unmolded and transferred to a rack to cool completely.