Gluten-free cinnamon spice doughnuts
Is anyone up for another mini doughnut recipe? I’m seeing them everywhere, particularly in their baked form. I know they were pretty popular last year, but the trend seems to be continuing.
I’m not getting off the baked doughnut bandwagon yet, either. This time, I experimented with an allergen-friendly version so some of my gluten-, nut- and dairy-sensitive colleagues could enjoy them, too. And, well, because it just meant another fun challenge in the kitchen. I do love challenges.
Thanks to Lani at LPK’s Culinary Groove, one of my favourite bakeries in Toronto, I’ve learned to be a little more daring when it comes to gluten-free, vegan recipe development. I participated in her Introduction to Gluten-Free Baking workshop a few months ago and I simply relished my experience working in a professional kitchen alongside her, if only for a few hours.
The keys to successful gluten-free, vegan baking? Use a combination of flours that include rice, bean and two starches. My go-to mix includes brown rice flour, chickpea flour, potato starch and tapioca starch—or a similar combination like in the recipe below. Also, a combination of binding agents is often required to keep things together. For the recipe below, I’ve included both flax and Ener-G powder.
One of my favourite treats to bring to parties and to the office, these cinnamon-spice doughnuts have a lovely, fluffy crumb. The deep, spicy flavour is enhanced by the cinnamon sugar topping—a must, as far as I’m concerned. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/3 cup Sucanat, ground
- 1 1/2 tbsp flaxmeal
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup nondairy milk
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- Ener-G egg replacement for one egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (ground cinnamon + organic cane sugar)
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Lightly oil two mini doughnut pans and set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, Sucanat, flaxmeal, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the nondairy milk, sunflower oil, applesauce, egg replacement and vanilla.
- Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine, making sure there are no more large clumps.
- Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared doughnut pans, filling each about 3/4 full. Lightly tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a doughnut comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the cinnamon sugar topping, simply dip each doughnut in the melted Earth Balance and allow excess to drip off. Then dip in the cinnamon sugar to cover all sides.
Notes
To avoid soggy doughnuts, I prefer to freeze the doughnuts for an hour after baking and dipping them while frozen to keep the Earth Balance from soaking right in.
These sound so wonderful! I love baked donuts.
Thanks, Shannon! Baked doughnuts are so fun, aren’t they?
as always, your photos are gorgeous nicole! i’m so glad that the baked doughnut trend isn’t going anywhere because i’m still loving them and am looking forward to trying these out. love the freezing tip too!
Agreed – I’m loving the trend, too! I’m glad you like the photos I did here… I’m always working on improving my photography skills.
ohh those look so good!
Thanks, Charis! And thank you for including them in your Tasty Tidbit Thursday post.
Yet another reason I must get a donut pan!
Maybe I should host a giveaway?
I habe made this tasty recipe & it rokzd my tastebuds! Oh,..yes!
My husband & friends loved them as much as I did!
Yummy food!
Thanks, Sophie! I’m so glad you enjoyed them.
These look scrummy Nicole! The pics remind me of donuts from the twins blog. I’ve made one attempt at mini donuts for the first time this winter and still looking for “the best” recipe! Will give these a shot next time I pull out the mini donut pan. Can’t get brown rice flour here so will have to use regular rice flour – do u think that will make much of a difference?
Thanks, Heathy! I think white rice flour will work just fine – the brown rice flour just adds more fibre. I hope you enjoy them!
These look amazing, I’m on the lookout for gluten free vegan recipes to make and this is perfect! Love the warm scent of cinnamon and coffee.
Thanks, Preeti! I hope you enjoy them.