Chocolate Donuts

These are a total wonder.

I absolutely love Danielle Walker’s recipe books. They are all grain-free, dairy-free and Paleo. This is adapted from a recipe in her Eat What You Love cookbook.

We made these with a good old Lidl donut maker. It’s not ideal, by any means - as it has a standard non-stick coating. I have tried to get a non-toxic donut maker, to no avail, and these are a rare treat. That said, I recently found a ceramic coated donut tray that I am about to experiment with.

Ingredients

DONUTS

3 eggs

1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk

1/3 cup melted ghee or coconut oil (using the odorless coconut oil will give less of a coconut flavour overall, but standard coconut oil works well too)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

1/2 cup raw cacao powder

1/2 cup coconut sugar

6 tablespoons coconut flour

1/4 cup arrowroot powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda - not baking powder)

1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt

GLAZE

85 grams dark chocolate chips, at least 70% cacao. We use these and can’t recommend them enough (they’re 81% Madagascan dark chocolate with vanilla and coconut sugar).

1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

Instructions

Preheat donut maker or preheat oven to 160c fan. Grease donut maker or pan with coconut oil.

In a blender, combine eggs, coconut milk, coconut oil or ghee, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, cacao powder, coconut sugar, coconut flour, arrowroot powder, baking soda and salt.

Blend on high for 30 seconds, until well mixed.

Rest the batter for 2 minutes, then blend again for 15 seconds on high.

Pour the batter into a large resealable plastic bag. Seal the top and snip off one of the corners (approx. 1 cm across), creating a large piping bag.

Pipe the batter into the donut mold or pan carefully. Fill to the top of each mold.

Cook according to donut maker instructions (likely around 5 minutes). If using a donut pan in the oven, bake for 15-20 minutes (this will depend on the size of the donuts - some pans hold 4-6 large donuts, others lots of smaller ones). They are done when a toothpick or metal kitchen skewer inserted comes out clean.

Remove donuts from mold or pan and cool on a wire rack.

Make the glaze: Bring 1 inch of water in a pan to a simmer on the hob. Place the chocolate chips, maple syrup and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl and set over the simmering water, creating a double boiler/bain-marie. On a low-medium heat, stir the mixture over the water until it melts and combines. When you have a smooth mixture, turn off the heat, remove the bowl from the pan and stir in 1 tablespoon of filtered water.

Glaze the cooled donuts by dipping the tops into the warm glaze. Twist gently as you remove from the bowl to allow excess glaze to drip off. You’ll get pleasant swirls, like in the photos here.

Place donuts on a wire rack for 10 minutes, to set.

Serve immediately. These can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 hour to harden the chocolate, but this will also harden the dough somewhat.

The donuts can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 7 days. They also freeze well, with parchment paper in-between each row.