When Nutella, donuts and muffins meet, it’s easy to feed your cravings and forget it’s even vegan.
Since my kitchen is void of donut molds, and since our fearless Foodie Underground columnist Anna, sent me a Nutella Donut Muffin recipe with a Vegan This dare, I made these donuts muffin-style, with no regrets. And as it turns out, they are best described as a true textural and taste blend of a donut and a muffin – fluffed to perfection with a finely tuned blend of gluten-free flours and filled with homemade Nutella—an EcoSalon favorite.
Normally, donuts, muffins and Nutella make the perfect food coma pairing. Not being one for comatose Sunday brunches, I softened the blow with less processed ingredients like coconut oil instead of butter, homemade almond milk in place of dairy and Nutella with real hazelnuts in lieu of artificial flavorings. For vegans like me who, beyond pure choice, are allergic to foods like milk and eggs, hazelnuts are actually the perfect ingredient. Full of phytochemical flavonoids (antioxidants) like quercetin, these little nuts may help to reduce allergic reactions. And, with healthy doses of vitamins E and B to boot—for healthy skin and a healthy metabolism, respectively – I’ll take a spoonful of hazelnuts with my sugar any day.
Denser than a donut, but still light, sugary and perfectly sweet, these quick and easy treats will give your cravings a real farewell. For now, at least.
The Original – Nutella Donut Muffins
from US Masala
Ingredients
For the donut muffins
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup oil
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Nutella (as needed)
For the coating
• 3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
The Vegan & Gluten-Free Nutella Donut Muffins
Makes approximately 9 donut muffins
Ingredients
For the donut muffins
• 1 ¾ cup flour – follow the following gluten-free flour blend:
• (¾ cup sorghum flour)
• (¼ cup sweet rice flour)
• (3/8 cup white rice flour)
• (¼ tapioca flour)
• (1/8 cup almond flour)
• (½ teaspoon xanthan gum)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup oil (I used cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil)
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg substituted (I blended 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons water)
• ¾ cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Nutella (I made this homemade, vegan version)
For the coating
• 3-4 tablespoons vegan butter (I used Earth Balance coconut spread)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F, and grease a muffin tray with vegan butter or coconut oil.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together your gluten-free flour blend, and add in the baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, egg-substitute and non-dairy milk. Add the dry ingredients and stir only until fully combined.
4. Follow these instructions to whip up your Nutella hazelnut spread.
5. Place 2 tablespoons of the muffin donut batter into your prepared muffin tins. Add 1 teaspoon of Nutella and cover with approximately 2 more tablespoons of batter until the muffin tins are ¾ full.
6. Bake for 18-22 minutes. (Mine were perfectly done after exactly 18 minutes).
7. Prepare your coating by melting your vegan butter in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together your cinnamon and sugar.
8. While the muffins are still warm, shake them out of the pan on to a cooling rack.
9. Dip your muffin donuts into your melted vegan butter and then into your cinnamon sugar mixture.
10. Allow to cool for approximately 10 minutes. These are perfect when warm and still wonderful when cool (up to 3 days—especially if making these gluten free). Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator if storing longer.
Note: These would also be delicious filled with your favorite homemade jam, in lieu of the Nutella, or simply plain, filling-free.
Enjoy!
