Apples and cinnamon sugar — what could you possibly make this pair better? Oh, I know, combine them in doughnut recipe that is both vegan and delicious!

I always thought doughnuts were one of those things I would have to give up if I wanted to maintain a vegan diet. This doughnut recipe makes quite a compelling case as to why my assumption is oh so very false — it contains no butter, eggs, milk, or cream. Meanwhile, these doughnuts are also free of refined white sugar and flour and, get this, oil-free. So, how do they taste so good? They are sweetened with lower-glycemic coconut palm sugar, thickened with coconut milk and applesauce, and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and apple cider vinegar. You do the math.

Admittedly, these vegan apple cider doughnuts don’t exactly compare to traditional doughnuts. Sure, they look the part and are so soft and moist that you’ll quickly forget all the doughnuts you enjoyed in the past, but their nutritional breakdown is far more redeeming.

The Benefits

Instead of white flour, this recipe uses spelt flour, an ancient cereal grain in the wheat family. Although spelt flour is not gluten-free, it contains less gluten than whole wheat or white flour. It is also rich in vitamin B2, manganese, niacin, thiamin, and copper. White flour is often so over processed that it loses nearly all of its nutritional integrity.

This recipe also calls for coconut sugar as the sweetening agent. Coconut sugar contains far less fructose than white table sugar. And while it will raise your blood sugar levels, it won’t do as much damage — its glycemic index is half that of white sugar. Coconut sugar is relatively expensive, but it’s worth the buck!

When eggs, milk, and butter aren’t part of a baked recipe, it’s tempting to fill in for their (often obvious) absence with vegetable oils and, popularly, coconut oil. Relying too heavily on a fat, even a plant-based one, can transform any well-intentioned vegan baked good into a just-as-dangerous-as-the-original-version indulgence. In this doughnut recipe, the only significant fat added to the mix is coconut milk. Coconut oil is also sprayed on the doughnut pan to prevent sticking, but that’s it!

What You’ll Need

Once the doughnut batter is all mixed and ready for baking, it’s important to have a doughnut pan on hand, so you can uniformly shape your apple cider doughnuts.

Vegan Apple Cider Doughnut Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the doughnuts

• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup 100% apple juice
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

For the sugar topping

• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 6-cavity doughnut pan with coconut oil.

In a large bowl, mix together the spelt flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and then pour them into the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to fold the mixture together until just combined.

Fill each doughnut hole in the pan with an equal amount of the batter. Bake the doughnuts for 12 minutes. Allow the doughnuts to cool on a wire rack. While still warm, dip them into a mixture of the sugar topping of coconut sugar and ground cinnamon. Enjoy them warm, when they are most tender and aromatic.

Related on EcoSalon
The Original L.A. ‘Fauxnut’ Doughnuts Recipe
Strawberry and Cream Doughnuts Recipe
Fōnuts are Better Than Donuts

The post Feast on Fall With Vegan Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts appeared first on EcoSalon.

Doughnuts are not the kind of thing you imagine could be easily made healthier – to say nothing of the fact that they’re not the most common among home-baked goods. Luckily, you can do both. That is, you can have your doughnut and eat it too, without violating your healthy diet or failing to continuously impress your family and friends with your home-cooked creations. Enjoy this sweet vegan figure-friendly doughnut recipe and say goodbye to (some of) the guilt.

In one glazed Dunkin’ Donut, there are 260 calories, 50 percent of which is fat, 14 grams of fat, 330 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbs, 12 grams of sugar, and only 1 gram of dietary fiber. It contains the allergens eggs, milk, soy and wheat. As far as the ingredients list goes, most of it is hard to pronounce. From sodium stearoyl lactylate to sodium acid pryophosphate to thiamin mononitrate, you can rest assured (alarmingly so), that what you’re ingesting isn’t the most “real” of treats.

The following vegan baked doughnut recipe takes out all the preservatives, artificial flavors and other additives and makes doughnut baking a fun and easy experience. Enjoy!

Vegan Baked Doughnut Recipe

Makes 12-15 doughnuts

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

• 1/4 cup spelt flour
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping Options:

• Turbinado sugar
• Chocolate glaze

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Slowly stir in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to form a sticky batter. Fill a pastry bag (or a regular plastic bag with a snipped corner) with the batter and squeeze the batter into the holes of a regular-sized doughnut tin. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through and slightly browned. Toss while still warm in turbinado sugar before serving.

Related on EcoSalon

Vegan This: Nutella Donut Muffins

Strawberry and Cream Doughnuts Recipe

The Original L.A. ‘Fauxnut’ Doughnuts Recipe

Photo Credit: nfnitloop

The post Vegan Wheat-Free Baked Doughnut Recipe (that Doesn’t Suck) appeared first on EcoSalon.

This is the doughnuts recipe that made Mani’s Bakery famous.

Fauxnuts were the answer to a cry for help when Danny DeVito was filming Other People’s Money. His character was addicted to doughnuts, but in real life, the actor did not eat sugar or fried foods. I whipped up a batch of agave syrup–sweetened banana batter, baked it in mini Bundt molds, and rolled the mini “cakes” in a variety of doughnut-style toppings. Dubbed fauxnuts by my dear friend Mary Coller, this doughnuts recipe was such a hit with Danny and the crew that we quickly added them to the bakery’s daily repertoire. The story went viral and we watched customers line up for them!

Makes 12 doughnuts

Ingredients

For the Fauxnut

Nonstick cooking spray for the pan
3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 ½  teaspoons baking soda
½  teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¾cups mashed ripe bananas
3 eggs
1 ¾ cups agave syrup, preferably light
1⁄4 cup canola or other neutral- flavored vegetable oil
1⁄4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the toppings

1 cup agave syrup, preferably light
Unsweetened shredded dried coconut, graham cracker crumbs, or toasted diced almonds

 Directions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray a 6-cup mini Bundt pan with cooking spray.

2. To make the fauxnuts, in a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. in a medium bowl, whisk the banana until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, agave syrup, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla to the banana and whisk until smooth and creamy, about
 2 minutes. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the banana mixture. Whisk together the dry and wet ingredients briefly yet thoroughly. Fill each mold no more than three-fourths full with batter. The easiest way to do this is to transfer the batter to a liquid measuring cup.

3. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed lightly near the center with a fingertip, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Invert the pan, hold it at an angle, and give it a firm whack on the countertop, then repeat the motion until all the fauxnuts pop out onto the rack. Let the fauxnuts cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter, allowing the pan to cool and spraying it with cooking spray before filling and baking.

4. To top the fauxnuts, bring the agave syrup to a low boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and pour into a small, deep heat- proof bowl. Place each of your chosen toppings in a separate small bowl. Turn a cooled fauxnut upside down, dip the top half into the hot syrup, and then roll it in the desired topping. Transfer to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining fauxnuts, then serve at room temperature. Strain the leftover agave syrup to remove any crumbs and save for another purpose

Note: chocolate-dipped fauxnuts variation: Put 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips and 11⁄2 teaspoons canola or other neutral- flavored vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl and set over (not touching) hot (not simmering) water in a saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from over the water and let cool slightly. Tilt the bowl so the chocolate collects in a deep pool. Turn a cooled fauxnut upside down, dip the top half into the chocolate, and then shake the fauxnut gently so that the excess chocolate drips back into the bowl. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with toasted diced almonds or unsweetened shredded dried coconut, if desired. Repeat with the remaining fauxnuts. Refrigerate briefly to set the chocolate before serving.

This recipe comes from Good Morning Baking, by Mani Niall.

Image by, Erin Kunkel

The post The Original L.A. ‘Fauxnut’ Doughnuts Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.