Let there be DONUTS! Chocolatey, somewhat cakey, made with ALL good things kinda donuts. They involve no gluten, no refined sugar or dairy of any kind. Yet- they’re a total palate party and you can’t possibly have just one. Trust me on this! 😉
OK, before writing this post let me just say: I used to hate donuts. Not just (not) like them.. More like… I really disliked them. Not sure what went wrong or got me to that aversion point. I grew up with a pretty sizeable commercial bakery called “Mister Donut” just down the street from my house… Yet, despite my mom’s best attempts to help me enjoy these universal treats- I wanted nothing to do with them. I remember walking alongside her into said bakery, and ordering a drink and a cookie or croissant. “No donuts, please- I’m never going to like them.” I would mutter with an assertiveness that was pretty eerie for a 4-5 year-old red head girl with pigtails. The cashiers would always enjoy a good laugh because, hey- I made sure to tell them, too.
Fast forward to 14 years later and said girl arrived in Canada for college. Said girl tried a Krispy Kreme donut and her conception of donuts entirely changed. Well, to begin with- I don’t even recall trying one up until that point. Second; these are heavily fried dough-nuts. What’s NOT to like? Third, the line of people waiting for a donut convinced me that THESE donuts were worth the wait (and the line-up)! And just like that, I welcomed donuts into my life and never looked back again… until I got sick.
For the last 4-5 years; I’ve avoided donuts altogether. Donuts were among the first few things I cut off from my life as I avoid gluten, dairy and sugar in an effort to keep my autoimmune disease in remission. It’s the reason why this blog was started; to share with everyone my love for baking alternative treats that taste as good as the classics, sans any of the nasties. And, I can’t believe it took me this long to write my first donut recipe!
I started tasting them around Christmas time, and since then: it’s been tested on the hubs, the munchkins, the besties, and my colleagues. They all gave them rave reviews. They’re a bit dense, more on the cakey side- but they hold together very nicely and kind of remind me of a donut hole texture.
The frosting was tricky; I had online Instagram poll and 50% of you guys wanted cream cheese-style frosting and the other 50% who participated wanted chocolate glaze on chocolate. So here’s a compromise; we’ll have the chocolate ones with cream cheese frosting- and I’ll create a vanilla donut recipe with chocolate glaze for that classic “chocolate dip” variety.
Here we go… DO-NUT say I didn’t warn you. These are GOOD! x
Baked Chocolate Donuts
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of almond flour
- 1/3 cup raw cacao OR good quality cocoa powder. I love Dutch alkalized varieties.
- 1/3 +1 tbsp cup of coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup of organic coconut sugar OR 1/3 cup of pure maple syrup or agave nectar
- 1/4 tsp of sea salt
- 1 tbsp of pure vanilla extract ( I love the strength of Madagascar vanilla)
- 1/4 tsp of baking soda*
- 1/2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
- 3 eggs, for best results- always at room temperature
* you can also do 1 tsp of baking powder instead of baking soda and omit the apple cider vinegar, too.
For the Cashew Cream Cheese-Style Frosting
- 2 cups of raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
- 1/2 C of water
- 1/4 C of nutritional yeast
- 1/4 C fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
- 1/2 tsp of sea salt (or more to taste)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and grease your donut pan(s) with a dab of coconut oil and avocado oil, trust me, makes removing the donuts way easier!
- Whisk all the dry ingredients in a bowl together: almond flour, cacao powder, coconut sugar, sea salt, and baking soda (or baking powder option)
- Mix all the wet ingredients ingredients in a separate bowl: melted coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla. I like to integrate one egg at a time and whisk as I go.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl and stir well.
- The last thing you mix in: the pinch of apple cider vinegar. Whisk well.
- Pour the batter into a plastic bag (or piping bag) and cut off one corner. Squeeze the batter circularly into the molds and bake anywhere from 12-15 minutes. All ovens vary. Â I just have a 6 donut-pan mold. I bake 6, and then another 2 donuts with this recipe. Allow them to cool before removing them from the pan. Finish the process in a cooling rack, preferably.
For the Frosting/Icing:
Throw everything into your food processor & process until smooth. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides as you go. Taste & adjust by adding pure maple syrup, as needed. Refrigerate icing for up to 4 days. Either dab on the donuts with a small spatula (below) or dip each donut in the icing (above)! Top them with sprinkles or dairy free mini chocolate chips! ENJOY! x
Hint: If you prefer- I first tried a classic sugar glaze on them. But this is NOT refined sugar free: 1/2 cup organic icing sugar and 2-3 tbsp of almond milk. Mix well and remove any lumps. Kids loved it- but I found it a bit too sweet. 🙂
By: Aleyda | The Dish On Healthy
