Fluffy Light Cake Doughnuts

Let me first explain to you how wonderful a gloomy and cloudy day can become when you give a girl a doughnut pan, all the gluten and dairy free products she needs and an imagination.

Today is Saturday... I'm in the middle of my winter break so I have absolutely no school work to fuss over (so wonderful!), I have no plans of errands or cleaning since I did all of that yesterday, my only real plan for the day is to get in a good workout (at some point). With all of these factors in place... what better thing to do than get creative and come up with my own doughnut recipe?!

Side note...

For Christmas this year almost all of the presents I received are items meant for the kitchen. And ya know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. My boyfriend's mom gave me a doughnut pan (yes, it was on my list). I opened it and was ecstatic! I know what you're thinking ... "Who gets ecstatic over a doughnut pan?" Well...

I DO.

So what else was there for me to do but to find a gluten free, dairy free, egg free and yeast free recipe to put my new pan to use. I set out on my search and without much trouble at all I came across these babies... Vegan Baked Pumpkin Spiced Cake Doughnuts from the Cinnamon Quill blog. I followed the recipe to the tee (using vanilla hemp milk) and they came out fabulous.

Although a bit crumbly, they were dense and filling enough to accompany an egg and banana as a breakfast. They were delicious as a snack heated in the microwave or taken right out of the fridge. The texture was a bit grainy, which can be expected with many gluten free flours. The flavor resembled pumpkin pie mixed with your favorite breakfast muffin. I ate one right away... then another half the next day as I was so graciously sharing them with my family, and another the next morning with my breakfast. As you can see they quickly disappeared, which is exactly what led me to today's creation.

My mind wandered as I searched for many other similar recipes... comparing flours and amounts of ingredients. I decided to be bold and create my own recipe based off of the many others I'd found. Here is what you'll need for these lovely little delights...

Ingredients

1/4 c + 2 tbsp vanilla hemp milk

1/2 tsp lemon juice (I use Santa Cruz organic lemon juice from the jar)

1/4 c oat flour

1/4 c sorghum flour

1/2 c tapioca starch

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c pumpkin puree (canned is fine)

2 tbsp shortening (room temperature)

EnerG Egg Replacer for 1 egg (whisk until frothy)

For the Topping

2 tbsp butter

Mixture of cinnamon & sugar

To Make Your Doughnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray doughnut pan with canola oil and set aside. Combine hemp milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. Grind 1/4 cup gluten free oats in your food processor (or use store bought oat flour if you have it). Add the rest of the dry ingredients (through cinnamon) and process until combined. Pour dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Add the hemp milk, pumpkin puree, shortening and egg replacer to the processor and blend until well mixed. Add the dry ingredients back to the wet ingredients and process until smooth. Using a small spoon add the batter to the doughnut pan, filling each about 3/4 full (or until you've used all the batter). Smooth the tops with the back of your spoon and bake in the center of your oven for 15 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness, if it comes out clean they are done. Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then gently place on a cooling rack. 

Melt the butter in a small bowl and lightly brush over the top of each doughnut. One by one, set each doughnut in the mixture of cinnamon and sugar so that the tops are lightly coated. Continue to let the doughnuts rest on the cooling rack until fully cooled. Store in an airtight container for a delightful snack, breakfast, dessert or however you so choose to enjoy them.

I must admit, when I took these out of the pan and felt how delicate they were, I was a bit nervous. I continued on with the topping, took my pictures and then took the first bite. Oh. My. Goodness. I couldn't believe how perfect these turned out! I took another bite carefully breaking down the fluffy, light, melt-in-your-mouth texture, the pumpkin undertone and the slight sweetness from the cinnamon sugar topping. These are stunning in every sense. Who knew doughnuts could bring so much joy?

I'll leave you with this last thought...

I always say that you should learn something new every day. It doesn't have to be monumental, it doesn't have to be something that would "wow" anyone, just take a chance and learn something every single day. Today, I learned two things ~ 

The first ... I learned how to make homemade, delightfully fluffy and delicious baked doughnuts using my own recipe. The second ...

baking makes me extremely happy.