Gluten-Free Baked Donuts

I was searching for a baked donut recipe that could easily be converted to gluten-free. I didn't want to mess with yeast or an array of GF flours either.  I wanted it simple, tasty and easy to prepare.

Persistence paid off because I located a recipe that fit all of my criteria without any gluten-free changes required. It was already done for me and was such a simple recipe that I couldn't wait to test it out.  Testing was a huge success! I now have a new favorite donut recipe that I will make again and again.

Chocolate Glazed Baked Donuts

It is officially a toss-up. I am hooked on cupcakes AND donuts! I cannot decide which I like more. And then the thought struck me. Why choose? Cupcakes one day, donuts the next. See , there is heaven on earth after all!

Today I wanted to bake donuts versus deep-fry them but my cookbooks lacked a chocolate baked donut recipe. Deciding to be resourceful, I headed over to Lara Ferroni's website and lo and behold, found a perfect recipe. And voila, an amazing chocolate baked donut was born. I topped them with a simple chocolate glaze and a few sprinkles for fun.

Lara is the author of my most recent purchase, Doughnuts, Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home. This recipe is exactly that: simple and delicious!


I did adjust Lara's recipe somewhat by substituting sour cream for yogurt and adding the scrapings of one vanilla been in lieu of vanilla extract. Plus the sprinkles were my idea :)

So let's get started, shall we? You will have these baked, eaten and devoured in under 20 minutes. How great is that ?!

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

DONUTS

1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
75 grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup full fat sour cream
1 teaspoon scrapings of one vanilla bean
1 large egg at room temperature

GLAZE

3/4 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2-3 tablespoons milk

MAKE IT

SPRAY donut pan with baking spray
PREHEAT oven to 350F
IN LARGE BOWL, sift together first 4 ingredients
WHISK in sugar, salt and nutmeg
ADD butter and mix into flour mixture with fingers until crumbly (as if making a shortcrust)
IN MEDIUM BOWL, WHISK together remaining donut ingredients
ADD WET ingredients to dry, folding in with rubber spatula just until combined
PIPE batter with round open piping tip into donut cavities
BAKE 8 minutes
LET DONUTS cool slightly in pan 5 minutes then remove donuts and transfer to cooling rack placed over waxed paper

IN MEDIUM BOWL, sift in icing sugar and cocoa
WHISK together and add milk until desired glaze consistency is reached

DIP tops of donuts into glaze and return to rack, right side up, to allow glaze to set
SPRINKLE with candy confetti

ENJOY !






Also seen here:

Baked Cake Donuts with Maple Glaze

Super-moist baked donuts topped with a sweet maple glaze and sprinkled with maple sugar. These donuts are cake-like in nature with a lovely crumb. The sour cream in the recipe works wonders for moisture and richness. Only a 1/4 cup of full fat sour cream goes a long way !

The source recipe comes from one of my new fave cookbooks: Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni.

The original recipe calls for yogurt but I used sour cream instead. I also reduced the nutmeg and added cinnamon.

The glaze recipe was also changed by adding some maple extract in addition to maple syrup. It made a world of difference in flavor.

As these are baked donuts, you can save the deep-frying for another day. I piped the batter into the donut molds and they baked up in perfect form. This recipe makes about 8 regular sized donuts or 6 large ones if you want to try and squeeze all the batter into your 6 donut mold pan in one shot.

You will also have leftover glaze with this recipe so either cut the recipe in half or save the excess, covered in the fridge for no longer than 24 hours, and simply give it a quick whisk before using to glaze your next batch!

I readily admit, I ate one still warm and freshly glazed. I didn't give them much time to cool. One one word: Perfection! But they are just as tasty several hours after baking. I do highly recommend eating them the same day they are baked.




LET'S GET STARTED!

RECIPE:
*altered source recipe for Baked Cake: Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni.

WHAT YOU NEED

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup superfine granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Saigon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature or vegetable shortening ( I used vegetable shortening)
1/4 cup whole milk, scalded
1/4 full fat sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten

GLAZE

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon maple extract
2 tablespoons milk
maple sugar

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
GREASE a 6 mold donut pan with cooking spray
IN LARGE BOWL, sift together flours and baking powder
WHISK in sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt
CUT in butter or shortening with a fork until broken up into pea size
GENTLY FOLD in milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, beaten egg only until combined
SPOON batter into a piping bag equipped with a large french tip (swirl or large circle tips are great too) and pipe into donut pan.
BAKE 6-10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Mine were perfect at exactly 8 minutes.
LET COOL in pan 5 minutes
TRANSFER DONUTS to cooling rack.

IN MEDIUM SHALLOW BOWL, whisk together all glaze ingredients except maple sugar
DIP TOPS OF DONUTS into glaze and set back onto rack
SPRINKLE tops with maple sugar
LET glaze to set (approx. 10 minutes)

For those on the hunt for a good donut pan, Amazon has the Wilton one for a super price. I love my Wilton pan! Here is the link: Wilton Donut Pan

In closing, I would like to announce
a new addition to our family.
Her name is Majestic.
She is a glorious butter yellow KitchenAid Artisan Mixer.
I am confident we will soon share an inseparable bond :)

Also seen here: