Red Velvet Doughnuts

I'm seeing red food items everywhere, it's the season after all. One of the baked items I wanted to make since I saw them in one of the blogs I visit are those cute red velvet cake donuts. I never liked cake donuts so baked them with yeast and topped with slightly sweet maple flavored whipped cream. You can also dip them in cream cheese glaze, if preferred. Yummy with either topping.  

Red Velvet Doughnuts
dough
2½ cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant yeast
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
 ¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon cider or raspberry vinegar
1 tablespoon red food dye

cream cheese glaze
4 ounces softened cream cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk

maple flavored heavy cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon maple extract 

• Doughnuts: Heat milk to almost boiling; let cool to 115°F. Whisk together flour, yeast, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the hot milk, vinegar, butter, and food dye. With paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 2 minutes until all the flour is moistened. Leave for 2 minutes. Replace attachment with dough hook and knead on medium low speed for 5 to 8 minutes until dough is smooth and supple. Transfer dough into a lightly greased container, cover with plastic wrap, and let double in volume, about 1 hour. Turn dough out on a smooth surface and roll to ¼ inch thick rectangle. Use a doughnut cutter to stamp out doughnuts. Or use doughnut pans if you have them. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F and bake until slightly puffed, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely in pans. 
• Cream Cheese Glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese and powdered sugar, add milk and stir until smooth. Add powdered sugar or milk as needed. Dip the doughnuts halfway into the glaze and transfer to a cooling rack set over a piece of aluminum foil. Leave for 20 minutes until glaze has hardened.
• Maple Flavored Heavy Cream: Beat ingredients to stiff peaks. Pipe on top of donuts. You may add green food dye if you want the donuts to look Christmas-y .