Orange Zest and Spice Baked Donuts

Hi all,

Who doesn’t love donuts?  I cant think of many people.  That’s because donuts are the bomb.  A quintessential American treat.  If made right, they are fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth, lightly sweet, and ideally topped with a swirling of frosting.  The perfect amount for a treat sized snack.  Not so much that you feel ill after consuming one, just enough to feel satisfied and oh so happy.

Behold: my donuts are made with zero grains/gluten, they have no refined sugar, and are dairy free (save for two eggs, but if you like, these can be substituted with egg beaters- found in the grocery store.  An egg substitute).

These babies have a unique, lovely flavor to boot.  Orange zest combined with a plethora of spices (a touch of cinnamon, a lot of ground cloves, and a tad of ginger).  The end result is awesome.  And, I threw the dough together in just ten minutes.  So while the ingredients may sound slightly complex to some who haven’t tried working with nut flours just yet (and no, the donuts do not taste like nuts), its super easy.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

 

Without further ado, here’s how to make these pretty and totally tasty little sweet treats.

Ingredients

Doughnuts:
-1 cup of cashew flour (to do this, I just ground up cashews in a food processor for a couple minutes and, viola).
-1/2 cup of almond flour (same concept as above, though this you can buy ready to go in the grocery store, usually in the baking aisles).
-4 tablespoons of coconut flour
-4 tablespoons of maple syrup
-2 tablespoons of oil (I used walnut oil.  You could use grape seed or another type you prefer- though I don’t recommend Olive Oil)
-2 large eggs (vegan alternative = 6 tablespoons of warm water + 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds, or as mentioned, “Egg Beaters” found in the grocery store)
-2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
-Orange zest from one medium size orange (I just use the smallest side of a cheese grater).
-1 teaspoon of baking soda
-1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ginger and 1.5-2 tablespoons of ground cloves

“Frosting”:
-About 1/2 cup of coconut milk (the kind from a can.  Just use the solid white top part.  Discard the water underneath)
-2 tablespoons of maple syrup
-1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

For the donuts:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl, mix all three of the flours, the baking soda, and the spices together.
2.  Zest the orange into the dry mixture.  To do this, I use the smallest side of a cheese grater and grate the orange peel on it, just until the peel has worn down to the orangey yellow skin underneath.  Then I move on to another part of the orange, until I have zested the skin of the whole thing.  Yes, this will look like teensy, tiny pieces of an orange peel.
3. Mix the maple syrup, the oil, the eggs and the vanilla extract into the dry ingredients.
4. The finished mixture should resemble a moist dough.
5.  In a greased doughnut pan, equally divide batter. Cook for around ten minutes or until color is golden and tops firm. Can do a toothpick test (insert toothpick into doughnuts to see if comes out clean of moist dough).
6. Carefully remove from pan and let cool before applying frosting.

Frosting:
In a small mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients. Stir well with a spoon until incorporated.  Apply to completely cooled doughnuts.

 

This recipe makes about 5 donuts.  Leftover donuts can be stored in an airtight container, either in the fridge or at room temperature.  I recommend them in the fridge, but your call.  They are delicious either way.