It’s beginning to feel like the television show Tosh.O over here. For each season he introduces his new wardrobe theme. This season it’s the Season of Brad where he dresses like a different character from a different movie of Brad Pitt’s. From the obvious to the obscure it’s always a fun suspense to see what new theme will be introduced. Now don’t get any ideas, I’m not dressing up. I am simply implying the various themes that have been going on here recently. From The Cinco de Mayo Party to The Seafood Bake, it’s now time for the beginning of a new season here: Picnic Season. And it’s going on all month long!
The great thing about picnics are the canvas of creativity they possess. It expands far beyond sandwiches and cold macaroni salad (but even for those who cannot eat gluten, eggs, or dairy, finding great-tasting sandwiches and cold macaroni salads can be a creative endeavor after all). As the weather begins to warm up, it’s time to pack up a blanket and stuff those baskets this time with donuts. It’s a breakfast picnic here at Fork & Beans and what better way to celebrate than with a bag of gluten-free vegan powdered sugar and chocolate-frosted mini donuts and a big thermos full of cold almond milk?
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This plain donut base leaves plenty of room for the imagination. Frost them, dip them in sugar, or coat them with sprinkles–whatever you do, you will have the tastiest gluten-free vegan mini donut in hand!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 c. Cara’s All Purpose Blend
- 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 c. nondairy milk of choice
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer + 2 Tbsp. warm water, mixed until frothy
- 1/4 c. vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a mini donut pan (or you can use a regular-sized donut pan. That will yield 10 donuts).
- In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients together until fully combined. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add all the remainder of wet ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until just incorporated and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir again briefly.
- Place the donut batter into a large plastic baggie. Cut the corner of one side to use as an opening. Pour out the batter into the pan. The more intact it stays, the better the results in the end. The batter should fill up to about 2/3 of the circle and will rise just above the pan.
- Bake 8 minutes. Allow to slightly cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mini donut
- Calories: 83
- Sugar: 5.5g
- Sodium: 36mg
- Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 0.8g
Now that we have the gluten-free vegan donuts made, let’s frost and coat them! First stop: Powdered Sugar. Take 2 tablespoons of vegan butter and melt it in a microwave-safe bowl. In another bowl place 1 cup of powdered sugar inside. Take the cooled donuts, one at a time, and gently dip into the melted butter (as seen below). Use a fork to lift it from the butter and allow the excess melted butter to drip off. Place the donut into the sugar and fully coat.
This will coat the entire 20 mini donuts that you made. OR if you are feeling a bit sassy (and I know you are!) you can reserve half of the donuts for the powdered donuts and the other half for chocolate-frosted donuts. Let’s go…
Take one bowl full of 1 cup of nondairy chocolate chips. Place into the microwave and heat up for one minute, stopping at each 30 second mark to stir the chocolate and make sure that it is just melted and isn’t getting burned. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of either non-hydrogenated shortening or coconut oil into the chocolate and stir until it is melted as well. It should be a nice glossy color. Place one donut at a time into the bowl and gently coat completely with the chocolate. Allow to set on a baking sheet lined with a piece of wax paper. If you are impatient like I am, you can place them into a freezer for the chocolate to set quicker.
Once your donuts are ready to go throw them into a brown paper bag, fill two to-go cups with cold almond milk (or nondairy milk of choice), two straws, maybe even some coffee, a newspaper, a blanket, and grab your loved one for a stroll in the park with breakfast in hand.
Need to substitute your gluten-free flours to fit your needs? Check out this post to help you figure out what will best suit your preferences. Any other questions? Ask away!
Now go enjoy your picnic breakfast to-go!
Oh. Man. Second time making these in two weeks. I’m waiting for my doughnuts to finish in the oven. I passed up a super craving of churros and decided to make these instead with a cinnamon powdered sugar topping.
Drooling right now thinking of it. Thank you for this recipe. I can’t tell you how many recipes I have played around with to get an unsuccessful gluten free vegan version. This recipe is perfect.
★★★★★
Love this recipe! I have made it 3 ways:
(1) Used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour (which includes x-gum) and baked in a large doughnut pan. Results were good but dense. Dipped in melted chocolate/coconut oil which improves everything.
(2) Used Cara’s AP Flour Blend and forgot the x-gum in the recipe. Baked it in a cast iron abelskiver pan that was banned before thinking that mini doughnut “holes” would be delish and offer more chocolate coverage. These came out great and I have yet to dip in chocolate, but the minis are yummy on their own. I might add mini-chips next time.
(3) Realized after the first batch of doughnuts above that I had forgotten the xanthan gum, I quickly added it to the waiting batter. Too lazy to load up the abelskiver pan again, I just used a cookie scoop and baked on a cookie sheet. They came out a little chewy in the middle but formed nice domes which could definitely be suitable for BLACK & WHITE Cookies –Okay, Cara – please get to work 🙂
In all batched I used corn-free baking soda which I made using this recipe: http://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/make-your-own-baking-powder/
I think they actually taste better without the gum, so next time I will use the abelskiver pan again and add mini-chips. I also use 1teaspoon of vanilla since we like that flavoring and I make my own extract.
Thanks Cara!
*batches
I made corn-free baking POWDER, which includes baking soda.
These look amazing! My son has special needs and is on a very restricted diet right now–what would you recommend using instead of vegan butter to glaze the donuts/help sugar to stick to them? He cannot have soy right now. I’m still really new at this so I’m not as familiar with all the swaps.
Hey Nicole! You can lightly spray them with olive oil or any mildly-flavored oil. Also, check out this guide http://www.forkandbeans.com/2013/12/16/dairy-substitutions-guide/ This should be of great help to you! I also guides to egg and gluten-free just in case you need them too. Much luck and love on this new journey, xo
These look to die for! Making them mini would mean id have to eat them ALL! If i were to make these full sized about how many would they make, should i double the recipe?
★★★★★
If you want a dozen, double the recipe for large donuts, yes! Otherwise you will just get 6 🙂 xo
How much of a real egg do I use?
Can I use a different blend of flour. I tic ally use Bob’s red mill gf brand.
That is A-Okay to do Macalla. However, I always use the caveat that it’s not always guaranteed anytime you switch around the recipe because of the differences of weight flours. So just be mindful of that. If you find that the donuts are too dense and heavy, it’s probably because the flour blend you are using absorbs more liquid than the one I use. All you need to remember for next time is to reduce to flour by at least 1/4 c. and see what happens. Hope this helps!
I just made these yesterday and they are amazing! I didn’t have superfine rice flour so they had just a little bit of that grainy-ness that you get with rice flour sometimes. Other than that, they are awesome.
Yay, yay, and yay!! So happy to hear this, Leilah 🙂
I’m not sure what I did wrong? Mine were very chewy and would not bake all the way through. I love your website. It’s a lifesaver:)
I’d totally dump Thom for Tosh. JUST SAYIN’. Also, I think you are so freaking talenetedandamazingandOMG. I wanna chocolate doughnut reaaaally bad.
Oh yummy. I also need to buy a pan. Could I use corn flour instead of ener-g-egg?
I love this post! These mini donuts look so cute and delicious! The pictures came out great, that picnic basket with all that lovely stuff so perfectly put together. Great idea to place the donuts inside the brown paper bags, they give an extra of coolness! 😉
xoxo
Looks great, Hot MAMA :)!!!…
Oh sexy girrrrrrrlfriend….xo
Do you need to use the Ener-G egg replacer or can ou use another egg replacement of your choice?
You can take it out Cassandra. Just add maybe an extra 1/2 tsp. of baking powder instead. Let me know how that works for you! xo
I think I need a mini donut pan now. Great.
I love that you have hacked my old favorite hangover food 🙂 I like the ones with the brown sugar cinnamon coating. Yum yum! You are the greatest! Hey! Are there any mini donut recipes in your book? Maybe I actually DO need a mini donut pan! For whatever reason they are just so much cuter than mini cupcakes. But not better, just different.
Let’s see, there are:
Maple Frosted Donuts
Chocolate-Frosted Donuts
Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Powdered Sugar Donuts
So I think the answer to your question is YES, yes you need a mini donut pan because it really DOES make it taste better 😉
these look yummy….could i just use my gluten free all purpose flour instead of the separate ones?
You bet your bottom dollar you can, Kellie! Just use 1 1/2 c. of your blend and omit the xanthan gum if it already comes in it. xo
OMG need these right now! Craving donuts so badly lately, you sure know the way to this girl’s heart. 😛
I’m working on a psychic side biz 😉
you are seriously killing me inside. when i was little, i would steal the box of mini chocolate covered and powdered donuts and eat…them all. if i lived near you, i’d climb in through the kitchen window, steal these donuts, and eat them in the closet. but then i’d write a super sweet apology note, and you would forgive me. xoxoxoxoxo
Your impression of what would happen is just like the Sour Patch Kids commercial. Sweet and sour 🙂 haha. But just so you know, I would already be in that closet eating donuts so it wouldn’t be much of a secret 😉 xo!
this sounds great will be making soon enough . i did have a couple quick question though , do these rise and how much should i be putting in donut pan ? also any nutritional info on our recipes ?
Thank you for pointing this out Tina. I included it into the directions. The batter should fill a good 2/3’s full of the pan and will rise just above the pan. No nutrition info yet–the one I had installed was not working properly. Currently looking for a good one and will get that set up as soon as I can. Thank you so much for your patience! xo
We should do a double date picnic night this summer! 🙂 Ahhh summer…. its so close i can almost TASTE it!! xoxo
Double date it is!
Donuts take me away…
Donuts are the new Calgon.
girl your photos are straight up KILLING me lately, SOOOOO gorg! Also I want to stuff my face with these donuts, please and thank you!
I love a girl with manners! Please AND thank you? Throwing mini donuts into your mouth…xo