Gluten Free Healthy Cake Donuts

 Donuts are all rage in the blog world right now.  Don't get me wrong...I love me a fresh, hot, fried piece of dough...but health reasons win out: a once a year treat (or less)!  With lunchbox stuffing's hot on MY mind, I figured these would be a hit.  After all..what really gets kids excited about their lunchboxes?  Is it mom's stellar gourmet cooking with just the right marriage of flavors and textures?  HA!  My kids have no clue that mom is a pretty good cook and frankly, could CARE LESS!!  They want excitement!  They want sprinkles!  They want frosting!!  So it is my job to figure out how to give them these things without feeding them unhealthy foods in the process.  I think these fit the bill.

I am realizing that a bit of novelty and whimsy go a long way in a lunch box....enter cute little donut shapes the perfect size for little hands!  I promptly purchased my own donut pan for $12 on amazon.  This morning, was the pilot..and it was VERY successful!  My kids didn't have to know that I snuck all sorts of goodies into the dough and NO refined sugars (minus the topping).  So have fun, I know I did, and even not fried, I have sated my donut quota for the year, but will make THESE ones more often!!

NOTE:  You do not need a donut pan to make these!   Option 1:  I have free formed the donuts multiple times with success, just roll into snakes, and free-form them on a greased or Silpat lined cookie sheet.  OR Option 2: Gently roll balls of dough in your hands, and then place them on a greased or Silpat-lined baking sheet.  I then use my finger to make the hole, shimming around in the center of the ball until a hole is achieved.  If you want them to be smooth, use damp fingers to smooth the edges!



Makes about 12-18 mini donuts

1 cup gluten free oat flour (could use sorghum or millet too)
1/2 cup brown rice flour (or more oat/sorghum/millet)
1/2 cup tapioca starch (or replace with more oat flour)
(You could sub about 1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose)
2 tablespoons almond meal (for nut free, replace with more chia or flax meal or one of the above flours)
2 tablespoons chia or flax meal (optional)
1/3 generous cup palm sugar ($4.29/pound on amazon subscribe and save) or brown sugar (or more if you like them sweeter)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1/4 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening or Earth Balance Margarine, or coconut oil
1/2 cup vegan yogurt or sour cream (I used So Delicious plain yogurt)
1/4 cup Pacific Foods Hemp Milk (or other plain non-dairy milk)
1 egg or Ener-G Egg Replacer for two eggs mixed with a scant 1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Add In's: cinnamon, dark chocolate chips, diced berries


Maple Glaze (enough for 12 mini donuts)

1/2 cup corn free powdered sugar
1 tablespoon melted Earth Balance Margarine
Maple syrup to achieve desired consistency (about 3-5 tablespoons)
dash of salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease the donut pan.

Whisk the dry ingredients together.  Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender.  Mix the egg, and yogurt together, stir in.  Add the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is firm but still a little sticky.  You need to be able to pick it up and roll it between your hands.  You could sprinkle additional flour to achieve this if necessary.

Using your hands, roll a golf ball size piece of dough into a short snake.  Snake it into the donut mold, overlapping the ends.  You could use a damp finger to smooth the tops if you wanted to be perfect. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes until just done.  Let cool a couple of minutes and invert on a cooling sheet to avoid a soggy bottom.  Top with powdered sugar, cinnamon/sugar mix, or the above maple glaze.  I found these to be a wee bit crumbly right out of the pan, but not so after they cooled completely!

This recipe was shared on Lunchbox Love over at Allergy Free Vintage Cookery