My heart always skips a beat when I see the school number light up on my phone. Today it was the school nurse calling to say that one of my girls has fallen flat on her face. Oh dear! Cancel afternoon activities. Cancel school pick up arrangements. Cancel a productive day in the office before the weekend. Cancel afternoon exercise me-time.
So… HELLO chocolate covered pumpkin donuts! Isn’t it funny how something as simple and cute as a mini donut can forgive and forget, washing away the day’s troubles and ‘cure’ a 6 year old with a fat upper lip.
I love baking, but since going gluten free it’s not been the focus of our kitchen time. When baking, my mantra is it’s gotta be from scratch (…where and when possible) avoiding unwanted additives and nasties in our diets. Baking from scratch helps us appreciate the ingredients and the work that goes into each creation, thereby savoring the outcome and treasuring the taste.
I was gifted the Danielle Walker’s Against All Grain book and I must admit I haven’t made much from it so far, but these little beauties are worth skipping straight to the sweet treat section. The ‘throw it all in the blender’ approach is perfect for impatient little chefs and while the addition of pumpkin puree got funny looks to begin with, it was soon forgotten when covered with chocolate and sprinkles. Ah sprinkles: one of life’s little joys!
So, here’s the recipe. Feel free to experiment with the toppings and icing. The pumpkin spice autumnal flavour would be amazing with a cinnamon sugar coating straight out of the oven.
Pumpkin Donuts
Makes 12 large or 17 small
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned works fine)*
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice**
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Icing
- 1/4-1/2 cup dark chocolate, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon honey
- decorations of your choice – sprinkles, chopped nuts, coconut flakes, fruit, etc.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180oC/350oF and grease a donut pan well. I got my mini donut silicon pan from a local supermarket here in Dubai, but if you don’t have one, then a mini muffin tin would also work for this recipe albeit without the donut hole!
Place the eggs, coconut milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, oil and vanilla in a blender or food processor and blend for about 15 seconds until frothy.
Add the dry ingredients and blend on low for 10 seconds, then on high for about 20 seconds.
Pour the batter into the pan, filling each cavity until only 2/3 full. This helps give them a rounded top and more natural donut shape rather than a muffin top.
Bake for approximately 20 mins (for large size) or 15 mins (for small size) or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool for 5 mins in the pan before gently removing and cooling completely on a cooling rack. Refill and repeat if you only have one donut pan like me.
To decorate, make the chocolate icing by combining the melted chocolate, coconut oil and honey in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Dip the top of each donut into the chocolate mixture then decorate with lots of little hands helping 🙂 Refrigerate until set and the chocolate has hardened.
* if you used canned pumpkin pie filling, then you can use up the leftovers with recipes like pumpkin spiced pancakes, pumpkin scones or freeze in ice cube trays to try a pumpkin pie protein smoothie. Or if you are like me and decide you will definitely be making this recipe again soon, then freeze in 1/2 cup portions ready for more donuts!
** If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice you can mix 3 parts cinnamon, 2 parts ginger, 2 parts nutmeg, 1 part allspice and a little ground cloves.
From our healing kitchen to yours.
ps. Sorry it’s been too long since I’ve posted. Let me know if there is any recipes or ideas you want me to feature and we’ll get on to it!
Kurth Kitchen 
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