Baked Vegan Donuts That Don’t Sacrifice Taste

I crave donuts often. Christopher prefers the deep fried kind best, but let’s be honest, we’ll both devour either kind! While at home, I always opt for baked  vegan donuts. My guess is because I’m not keen on deep frying stuff solo. My last memory of deep frying something resulted in a pot burning through a kitchen floor at my in-laws after it burst into flames on the store. Oops.

Baked Vegan donuts, because deep frying can go so wrong!

I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a while now, but I wanted to make sure I tested it out a few times to get it just the way I like it.  I also find myself procrastinating… a lot! But after an amazing weekend in New York City, I feel motivated, inspired, and committed to sharing how easy it is to live a plant-based lifestyle and still get to fulfill all your sweet cravings. For now though, I’ll stick to sharing these baked vegan donuts!

You’re gonna need a donut pan.

I’m lucky enough to have a donut pan kicking around. If you don’t have one, Amazon has a bunch of different ones that come in a few different sizes. I have the regular size one and the mini one (the mini is really tiny). I’ve also seen some silicone ones that look pretty interesting; getting the baked donuts out is probably a bit easier.

Keep a close eye on the bake time!

Once you’ve mixed your batter and spooned it into your molds, you just need to pop’m in the oven and let magic happen. Pro tip: not all ovens work the same. I’ve ruined some good recipes in the past by not trusting my gut and leaving things in too long. Nobody wants to eat a mushy baked vegan donut or a burnt donut, right? Pull out the trusty tooth pick and give’m a pick. The toothpick should come out clean. For the pan I have, I use a small knife to scoop them out.

Before you get fancy, let them cool.

The next step is to place them on a cooling rack and let them completely cool before you ice them. I know, you probably can’t wait to pop one into your mouth, but the wait is worth it. I tried icing them when still warm and it just turned into a sticky mess, so be patient! In terms of icing, you can play around and get creative with different natural dyes. Our favourite is blue matcha. The colour is always perfect. Other go-to natural dyes are beetroot powder, turmeric, blueberry juice, pitaya powder, etc.  The sprinkles we used are from Sweetapolita. They have a whole vegan line and are Canadian-based. Naturally, we love everything about that!

Donut worry. Here’s the recipe for Baked Vegan Donuts

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix well
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix until just combined. It should form a very soft dough.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
6. They should not be browned on top, but a toothpick will come out clean. Invert the hot pan over a cutting board or cooling rack to release the doughnuts. You might need use a tool to loosen them.
7. Combine the icing ingredients and mix well. Be sure to allow donuts to cool completely before decorating.
8. Top with a glaze, melted chocolate, and/or sprinkles if desired.

NOTES