I have always LOVED donuts! These days most of us are watching what we eat; many try to eat low fat, avoid sugars, or are gluten intolerant, etc. Thus, donuts may no longer be on our radar. I honestly had not eaten a donut for years because they are usually deep fried. However, last month I came upon a most delicious gluten-free baked donut recipe that I absolutely have to share with you! They are so light and airy, and have a delicious chocolate glaze.
The dough is a “pate au choux”, which is what is more commonly known as a “cream puff dough.” As long as you have an oven and some parchment paper, you will be able to make these donuts in your Sayulita kitchen. Additionally, they store for a few days in the refrigerator which makes them a great snack to have through the week. What a treat when you have a visitor or a dinner party with your Sayulita friends! Served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, and bravo! YUM!
The ingredients and instructions sound complicated, but please don’t let this intimidate or stop you from making them. The end result is well worth your ingredients and your time! Some of these ingredients are not commonly stocked in your kitchen; they are unusual, but are all available at Terrenal Organic Store here in Sayulita, or at Mega and La Abejita (Little Bee) in Bucerias. I promise you that a trip to stock up on these ingredients will be well worth it!
INGREDIENTS: for the Donuts
-⅔ cup almond flour (at Terrenal or Mega)
-¼ cup coconut flour (at Terrenal or Mega)
-1 Tablespoon psyllium husk (at La Abejita, or “Little Bee”)
-1 teaspoon xanthan gum (at La Abejita, or “Little Bee”)
-1 cup water
-¼ cup butter or coconut oil. (I have only made these with butter which needs to be melted for this recipe.)
-3 Tablespoons sugar
-¼ teaspoon salt
-3 eggs
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-1 teaspoon baking powder
INGREDIENTS: for the Chocolate Glaze
-¾ cup powdered sugar (called glacé in Mexico, and is available in most Sayulita tiendas)
-2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
-2 Tablespoons melted butter
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. (Many tiendas and stands sell the brand “Orlando” pure vanilla. I really do not like the flavor of it, so try to use a different brand. My favorite is from Costco in Puerto Vallarta. It has the scent and taste that I really prefer for all my sweet baking.)
-Milk or cream as needed to thin the glaze enough to be able to dip donuts.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
-Pastry bag or small ziplock bag
-Donut pan or parchment paper. (When I was back in Canada I bought two donut pans so that I could make these in Sayulita. They look so professional baked in the pans.)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Grease and flour the pan with coconut flour. Do this to 2 donut pans, OR line your baking tray with parchment paper, and draw circles approximately 3 & ½ inches in diameter. (I drew the circles when I first started making these donuts. They turned out great! Perhaps not quite as pretty as those with a professional donut pan, but still very good indeed.)
- Whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk, and xanthan gum, then set aside.
- Heat up the water, then add the butter, sugar, and salt in a medium sized pot. Heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges.
- Lower heat to low, and add in flour mixture all at one time. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the dough pulls away away from the pan; this should take 1-3 minutes.
- Transfer the dough into a bowl, and cool for 5 minutes. The dough should still be warm, but not hot enough to scramble the eggs when they are added next. If you have an instant read thermometer, the temperature should be below 125 degrees F.
- Add in 1 egg at a time, beating with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon until each egg is well incorporated.
- Beat the dough for 2 minutes after adding your last egg. The texture should be quite elastic.
- Mix in the vanilla and baking powder.
- Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. This is a very important step that keeps the dough from deflating after the donuts are baked.
- Spoon the dough into a piping bag or ziplock bag, and make a cut about ¾ inch wide at the bottom of the piping bag, or alternatively, at the corner of the ziplock bag.
- Pipe the dough into donut pan. If using the parchment paper, stay within the drawn circle, being certain to leave a hole in the center.
- Bake for 12 minutes at 425 degrees, then lower temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 10-12 minutes, or until donuts are a deep golden brown. Do NOT open the oven door, as this dough is very sensitive to drafts!
- Cool in pan or on parchment for 10 minutes.
INSTRUCTIONS: for the glaze
- Add the vanilla, melted butter, and milk or cream, until you reach the consistency that is thick but still pourable.
- Using the best rounded side, dunk donuts into the glaze so that the tops & a bit of the sides are nicely coated. (I like to crush some toasted almonds or hazelnuts and sprinkle lightly over the glaze.)
- Cool in refrigerator until the glaze has firmed. You can then store them at this point or devour with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
I am 100% certain that you will LOVE them as much as I do- they are light, airy, and chocolatey! Stay tuned for the most flakey and delicious rolled up cookies in my next column.
If you have any questions or comments, you can always reach me through my LIVE, LOVE, & EAT in SAYULITA Sayulita Life Web Page. I always love hearing from you!
Written by: Karina Shecter