Sometimes you just wanna take a bite out of a warm, glazed doughnut. Ahhh, yum!
A little indulgence from time to time, right? In moderation of course!
The tough part about picking up doughnuts at coffee shops or dessert places is that it isn’t always easy to find “healthier” options.
Gluten-free, vegan, allergen-free… Sometimes it can be a challenge.
These doughnuts are both vegan and gluten-free, and I challenged myself to keep the sugar to a minimum. Half a cup of sugar for 12-13 doughnuts, so only around 5g of sugar per doughnut (without the glaze). (That’s less than most granola bars sold in grocery stores!).
And while I topped these beauties with crushed walnuts, the options are endless for anyone with a nut allergy!
A key ingredient in these Vanilla Orange Gluten-Free Doughnuts is fresh citrus!
I’m using Sunkist Cara Cara Oranges because I love the soft sweet flavour they pack. You can learn more about Sunkist Cara Cara Oranges here.
This was actually my first time baking with gluten-free flour. I’d tried making these exact doughnuts the night before, using a coconut flour blend, but my proportions were all off, and the flour didn’t have anything in it to help it rise. I.e., xantham gum.
After several hours of recipe research, I found that xantham gum is actually quite important when baking with gluten-free flours.
If the GF flour blend contains xantham gum in the ingredients list (usually a marginal amount), then you’re fine to substitute it in for regular flour in most recipes. If it doesn’t contain xantham gum, then it’s recommended to add about a tsp to your batter mix.
My recommendation from personal experience: you’re better off using a GF flour blend that already contains the right blend of ingredients so your baked goods don’t get ruined!
Here are two options I’ve used now, that I would use again:
I really want to make sure that if you make these donuts at home that they turn out well! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get started on the recipe for these sweet treats!
Vanilla-Orange Gluten Free Donuts
These doughnuts are some of my favourites! They’re vegan, gluten-free and they pack a fresh punch of orange citrus flavour!
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- zest of 1+½ large Sunkist Cara Cara Oranges
- 1 1/3 cup almond milk
- 2 tbsp fresh squeezed Sunkist orange juice
- 1/4 cup liquid coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp almond milk
- 1 tbsp fresh squeezed Sunkist orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Sunkist orange zest
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F,
- In a large bowl, mix together your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pinch of salt, and orange zest).
- In a separate bowl, mix together your wet ingredients (almond milk, orange juice, coconut oil and vanilla extract).
- Once combined, slowly add your wet ingredients to the dry and mix together with a spatula until just combined. Make sure not to over-mix.
- Either lightly spread vegan butter / regular butter as a base to your pan, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- If you have a piping bag, add your batter in and begin to fill the grooves of your donut pan, making sure not to fill them to the very top.
- If you don’t have a piping bag (it’s okay, neither do I), you can use a large ziplock bag and cut the corner – life hack!
- Bake for approx.12-14 minutes (you can use a toothpick to test the texture).
- Let cool for 20-25 minutes on a rack before adding icing.
For the Icing:
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In a shallow bowl, mix together your powdered sugar, almond milk, orange juice, vanilla, and orange zest until combined.
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Once desired texture is achieved, dip your donuts upside-down into the icing and set aside until the icing sets.
Store donuts in fridge not to let the glaze melt.
As an alternative to a powdered sugar base glaze, you can top with fresh coconut yogurt and garnish as desired. If going with this option, do so only when serving and eating right away, as the yogurt wouldn’t keep its form, even if stored in the fridge.
As mentioned above, check the ingredients of your gluten-free flour blend to make sure it contains xantham gum — this will help the batter to rise. If your flour blend doesn’t have it, add 1/2 tsp xantham gum to your dry ingredients before mixing.
Nick Joly | Inspired by Nick
#begoodtoyourbody
inspiredbynick.com
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