Gluten-Free Raised Donuts with Honey Glaze

These beauties are gluten-free, yeast-raised and deep fried. They have a lovely texture, great taste and are finished with a simple honey glaze that sets wonderfully letting you indulge without having your fingers coated in sticky sugary icing.

The source recipe can be found in my newly purchased, and deeply loved cookbook, Doughnuts - Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home by Lara Ferroni.

I took Lara's recommendation to use Chia Flour (ground chia seeds) as she states it adds a slight chewy texture to these donuts which mimics that of a regular raised donut. She was right! These have the taste and texture we all love in our gluten-based deep fried donuts.

You can find ground chia flour in nearly every health food store now. If you strike out, feel free to substitute 1:1 with brown rice flour.

I did adjust Lara's recipe as I went along by adding a few more spices and reducing the yeast somewhat because I didn't want an over-powering yeast flavor which sometimes can happen with raised donuts. When you reduce the yeast you also need to increase the proofing time so I did that as well.

The glaze is nothing more than 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey and 3-4 tablespoons of milk.

I highly advise you use a stand mixer with dough and paddle hook attachments for this recipe. Mixing by hand would be a challenge but could be done if you really wanted to go that route.

To begin, you will first need to combine the following ingredients which will serve as your basic gluten-free donut baking mix. I combine all the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, give it a good shake, use what I need and store the rest in the fridge.

• 1 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup potato flour or sweet sorghum
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour

Now let's get started !

RECIPE:
altered source recipe: Doughnuts - Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home by Lara Ferroni

WHAT YOU NEED

1/3 cup chia or brown rice flour
2 cups GF baking mix (see above)
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon guar gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup milk warmed to 110F
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons fine granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegetable shortening at room temperature
Canola Oil - enough to fill a dutch oven with 2 inches of oil

In addition to the basics, you will also need a dutch oven, doughnut cutter or biscuit cutters in large and small sizes, oil/candy thermometer, steel spatula used for frying donuts and a non-terrycloth dishtowel

GLAZE

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of honey
3-4 tablespoons of milk

MAKE IT

IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together first 7 ingredient which I will refer to as "flour mixture"
IN LOW LYING BOWL ( I used my soup bowl), sprinkle 1 1/4 teaspoons of yeast over warm milk. Allow to sit 5 minutes then gently stir with fork until yeast is mostly dissolved
ADD 1/8 cup (20 grams) of flour mixture and stir well until a paste forms
COVER with cling wrap and let sit 15 minutes
IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER, fitted with paddle attachment, stir together remaining yeast and water
ADD flour/yeast paste, sugar and salt
STIR MED speed until smooth
BEAT in eggs, egg white, vanilla and vinegar
MIX IN 1/2 cup of flour blend on MED speed for 30 seconds
CHANGE to dough hook attachment
CONTINUE adding flour mixture , 1/4 cup at a time (until remaining flour mixture is used up) kneading shortly after each addition until dough finally starts pulling away from sides.
COVER bowl with cling wrap and let sit 30 minutes

FLOUR work surface with some gluten-free (GF) baking blend
ROLL out dough to 1/2 inch thickness
CUT OUT with donut cutter
PLACE donuts and holes and a baking tray lined with a linen dish towel sprinkled with GF flour
COVER with cling wrap and let rest 35-40 minutes until risen with rounded tops

WHILE DONUTS ARE PROOFING, heat oil in dutch oven to 350F
WITH SPATULA, ADD 2-3 donuts at a time or 5 donut holes at a time to hot oil
TURN after 1 minute, fry additional minute
REMOVE to a baking rack covered in a few sheets of paper towel
CONTINUE frying remaining donuts

LINE a cookie sheet with waxed paper and place a baking rack on top of waxed paper. This will make clean-up after glazing a breeze!
IN LOW LYING BOWL, whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth
DIP tops of donuts into glaze and submerge donut holes entirely in glaze
PLACE donuts and holes on a baking rack and let sit 10 minutes for glaze to set
FEEL FREE to double dip too. After initial 10 minutes just re-dunk the donuts in the glaze a second time

DIG IN !

Also seen here:

Chocolate Glazed Baked Donuts

It is officially a toss-up. I am hooked on cupcakes AND donuts! I cannot decide which I like more. And then the thought struck me. Why choose? Cupcakes one day, donuts the next. See , there is heaven on earth after all!

Today I wanted to bake donuts versus deep-fry them but my cookbooks lacked a chocolate baked donut recipe. Deciding to be resourceful, I headed over to Lara Ferroni's website and lo and behold, found a perfect recipe. And voila, an amazing chocolate baked donut was born. I topped them with a simple chocolate glaze and a few sprinkles for fun.

Lara is the author of my most recent purchase, Doughnuts, Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home. This recipe is exactly that: simple and delicious!


I did adjust Lara's recipe somewhat by substituting sour cream for yogurt and adding the scrapings of one vanilla been in lieu of vanilla extract. Plus the sprinkles were my idea :)

So let's get started, shall we? You will have these baked, eaten and devoured in under 20 minutes. How great is that ?!

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

DONUTS

1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
75 grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup full fat sour cream
1 teaspoon scrapings of one vanilla bean
1 large egg at room temperature

GLAZE

3/4 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2-3 tablespoons milk

MAKE IT

SPRAY donut pan with baking spray
PREHEAT oven to 350F
IN LARGE BOWL, sift together first 4 ingredients
WHISK in sugar, salt and nutmeg
ADD butter and mix into flour mixture with fingers until crumbly (as if making a shortcrust)
IN MEDIUM BOWL, WHISK together remaining donut ingredients
ADD WET ingredients to dry, folding in with rubber spatula just until combined
PIPE batter with round open piping tip into donut cavities
BAKE 8 minutes
LET DONUTS cool slightly in pan 5 minutes then remove donuts and transfer to cooling rack placed over waxed paper

IN MEDIUM BOWL, sift in icing sugar and cocoa
WHISK together and add milk until desired glaze consistency is reached

DIP tops of donuts into glaze and return to rack, right side up, to allow glaze to set
SPRINKLE with candy confetti

ENJOY !






Also seen here:

Spiced Chelsea Buns

Known in Britain (and around the world for that matter) as Chelsea Buns, these pastries are yeast based buns originating from England. Though similar in "design" as our traditional cinnamon buns, these are quite different. No thick frosting on these babies. Just an amazing sweet glaze of milk, honey and sugar. For the filling, traditional recipes tend to call for cinnamon, sugar and dried fruit. Other ones I have seen add more spices to the filling for even greater flavor. I combined the best of both worlds. This recipe has 2 types of raisins, cloves, and nutmeg in addition to the standby cinnamon and sugar.

According to historians, for almost a century, until its demise in 1839, the Chelsea Bun House in England was famous for its spicy, sugary buns which were aptly named Chelsea Buns. The precise location of the famous bakery is up for debate but many state Bunhouse Place, London, seems like a safe bet.

Another interesting note: the owners also claimed to have invented the hot cross bun, and one Good Friday tens of thousands of people, King George III included, thronged down Ebury Street, keen to be seen in the fashionable queue to buy sticky buns.

Thank you, England, for another great baking creation! For those who haven't tried a Chelsea Bun, you don't know what you are missing. So please, bake up a dozen and tell me what you think. I suspect these may quickly become your Sunday morning family favorite. Personally I enjoy them on any day that ends in "Y" .

Now onto the baking!

Though I initially intended to follow the Chelsea Bun recipe in The Great British Book of Baking, I wasn't keen on the dough directions. It lacked any steps to proof the yeast. As a result, I decided to revamp the recipe to ensure a well-risen dough. I also dramatically adjusted their filling ingredients too. I felt the addition of a few extra key spices would really kick these up a notch. Thankfully my intuition was bang on. Sugar and spice and everything nice, that is what these little Chelsea Buns are made of !

LET'S GET BAKING !

You can either knead the dough by hand or use your stand mixer equipped with a dough hook.

Once your dough has risen for 1 hour, you simply roll it out
and fill with spices, raisins, sugar and butter.


Spread the filling out leaving a 1 inch gap between filling and all edges


Roll up length-wise and pinch seam to seal long edge


Cut in 1 1/2 inch slices


Add buns to a greased baking pan and let rise , covered, 1/2 hr


They will puff up even more as they bake


Before you know it, you will have freshly baked spiced Chelsea Buns!

RECIPE*:
*source recipe (adapted) : Chelsea Buns, The Great British Book of Baking

WHAT YOU NEED

BUNS

175 ml milk (I used 2%)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons active dried yeast
50g unsalted butter
450g white bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg at room temperature

FILLING

50g unsalted butter, melted
75g dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sultanas (golden raisins)
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

GLAZE

2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoon fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoons honey

MAKE IT

IN SMALL BOWL, microwave milk for 20 seconds or until lukewarm
ADD sugar and stir
ADD yeast, sprinkling on top of milk mixture
LET stand for 2 minutes. Then slowly whisk yeast into milk mixture
LET stand 5 minutes
IN SMALL BOWL, microwave butter until just melted
IN SEPARATE SMALL BOWL, gently whisk egg just until slightly blended
IN LARGE BOWL (or bowl of stand mixer), stir together flour and salt
MAKE well in middle of dry ingredients
ADD yeast mixture, butter and beaten egg
STIR for 2 minutes until a shaggy dough starts to form
KNEAD 10 minutes by hand on a floured surface or 4 minutes with stand mixer on MED speed
DOUGH will be somewhat soft but not sticky
COVER dough with dishtowel and let rest in warm area for 1 hour

MAKE FILLING

IN SMALL SAUCEPAN, melt butter over low heat.
STIR in remaining filling ingredients until combined
Stir continuously for 2 minutes over med/low heat
REMOVE from heat and allow to come to room temperature

WHEN DOUGH HAS RISEN, punch down and move to a floured work surface
ROLL dough into large rectangle (approx 10 X 16 inches)
SMOOTH filling over rectangle leaving 1 inch gap between filling and edges
STARTING with long edge, roll up dough into a spiral
CUT into 1 1/2 inch rolls

SPRAY a large baking pan (I used my lasagna one) with baking oil
ARRANGE buns in pan (sides not touching)
COVER with dishtowel and let sit 1/2 hour

PREHEAT oven to 400F
BAKE 15 MINUTES
WHILE BAKING, whisk together milk, sugar and honey.
MICROWAVE 20 seconds on HIGH power
STIR well

AFTER BUNS have baked 15 minutes, remove from oven, brush glaze over tops and return to oven for 5 minutes

REMOVE and let cool completely in pan set over a cooling rack

ENJOY!

Also seen here:

Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Donut Drops

Deep-fried donuts! Anything better? Not much. I love donuts. In fact I can safely say it is 3rd on my list of addictions. Thankfully that list ends at #3. First off, my #1 addiction is coffee. If I don't have it to start off the day then let's just say my mug shot could be on the evening news. #2: SALT! Many moons ago when I was just a little girl, my dad bought me a pony. And that little pony was lovely. A furry and brown Morgan horse and by far, the most gentle pet I have ever owned in my life. Anyway, I digress. What I remember most is watching him go crazy with his salt block. He would lick that thing on and off day and night. I couldn't understand why he liked it so much. Fast forward to today - I totally understand. In fact I am considering buying myself one and keeping it under my desk. Thankfully my blood-pressure is low, always has been, so I am safe - for now. But #3 on my list is what brings me here today - DONUTS ! Any kind - fried, baked, yeast-based, old-fashioned, cake style, French crullers, fritters. I will eat them all.

On Lemon Drop I have 2 blog posts now related to donuts: A regular baked version topped with chocolate glaze and a gluten-free baked lemon donut. The fact is I went with baked for both because I am afraid of oil. First, second or third degree burns are simply not what I wish to experience now or in the future. I grew up with a fear (thanks, Mom) of splattering oil. I figured daring to deep-fry donuts would result in a trip to the nearest emergency room so for years I have avoided it. Until today. What changed today? Today I bought a new book called Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni.

A fantastic book! The photos are glorious. The recipes are divine.

Immediately I hit a snag. I didn't have any yeast handy and the majority of the recipes at the beginning of the book are yeast-based. But then I saw the recipe: Old-Fashioned Sour Cream !
No need for yeast and these guys are deep-fried ! So I decided to make them asap. Instead of going for the traditional donut shape I went with little circles instead. Pretty much "donut-holes". I prefer to call them Donut Drops.

Words of caution: be careful not to over-bake. Do not let them cook longer than 2 minutes MAX on one side before flipping. If your dough is 1/2" thick then I say turn them over at 1 minute. Also, keep the oil at 350F. This can be challenging but necessary. Too cool and the donuts will just be greasy sponges. Too hot and they will cook too fast on the outside with uncooked centers.

LET'S GET STARTED!

You will need an oil/candy thermometer and a deep pot. I used my dutch oven.


Have your biscuit cutter handy. The smallest out of the stack

I let these cool about 5 minutes before spooning 1 teaspoon of glaze over each one.
They would also be lovely topped with sifted powdered sugar.

RECIPE*:
* Recipe adapted from Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni.

This made 22 donut drops for me with a 1 1/2" small biscuit cutter

WHAT YOU NEED

DONUT DROPS

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg ( I like nutmeg in donuts so added this to the recipe)
pinch of salt
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup full fat sour cream
1 large egg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or veggie shortening. I used Crisco shortening
Vegetable oil for frying ( 2 inches deep with 2 inches above the rim of a suitable pot)

VANILLA GLAZE

1 cup icing sugar, sifted
3-4 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

MAKE IT

IN MEDIUM BOWL, sift together first 5 ingredients
IN LARGE BOWL, combine sugar, sour cream, egg and shortening.
BLEND with a whisk until thoroughly combined
SLOWLY add flour mixture to egg mixture, folding in with a spatula, until thoroughly combined and dough is smooth and uniform in texture
COVER with cling film and put in refrigerator for 15 minutes
HEAT oil to 350F
ROLL out dough onto floured surface to 1/2" thickness
CUT out circles with small biscuit cutter
WORKING with 5 donut drops at a time, place cutouts into hot oil with a heat-proof spatula/skimmer
LET COOK 1 minute, turn over and let cook another minute
PLACE cooked donut drops onto paper towel to drain
MOVE to cooling rack which is placed over a cookie sheet lined with wax paper
CONTINUE cooking donut drops until all dough is used.

MAKE GLAZE:

WHISK together icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract
WITH A TEASPOON, pour glaze over donuts
LET sit 5 minutes until glaze sets

ENJOY !

P.S. Not one burn ! I am 100% burn-free :)

Also seen here:

Banana Sour Cream Muffins with Pecans

Unfortunately, my banana nut muffin post was lost in the Blogger mishap so I will re-post again with the hopes that you will see this in time to make a fresh batch of these lovely muffins for your weekend treat !

I decided to make these yesterday morning when I was again faced with one overly ripe banana on the counter; the only survivor of a bunch I purchased at the start of the week. Rather than adding to my growing stack in the freezer, I wanted a recipe where only one banana would suffice and muffins came to mind.

These muffins have several key ingredients to ensure optimum moisture: sour cream, milk, oil and of course, banana. The addition of nutmeg and cinnamon are wonderful complimentary flavors to banana in baked treats. These muffins have a soft, cake-like, consistency and are perfect plain, with butter, jam or even a smear of cream cheese.

Throw in some nuts during the final mixing stage to give them great crunch. Top them off with turbinado or demerara sugar right before baking. My girls love theirs with chocolate chips so just swap out the nuts for sweet little morsels of " I can't get enough" chocolate if you prefer.


LET'S GET STARTED!

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup fine sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 large) mashed banana
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/4 cup full fat sour cream
1/3 cup oil (a neutral flavored oil is needed. I use Becel)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped nuts

MAKE IT

PREHEAT OVEN to 375F
LINE 12 MUFFIN CUPS with paper liners

IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together first 6 ingredients
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together remaining wet ingredients except nuts
ADD wet ingredients to dry ingredients folding in nuts at same time. Fold together just until combined
FILL muffin cups to the top (as they do not rise too high and won't overflow the tin).
BAKE 18-20 MINUTES or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

ENJOY !

Donut Muffins with Vanilla Cinnamon Glaze

These lovely little muffins are a wonderful way to start off the morning. With the taste of an old-fashioned glazed doughnut without the deep frying.

This recipe caught my eye on the King Arthur Flour site. It isn't a new idea and has been "revamped" by many. The traditional way to top these is by dipping them in melted butter then in a cinnamon/sugar mix.

The original recipe can be found here at the King Arthur site. For a bit of a change and added moisture, try adding 1/4 cup of full-fat sour cream to the wet ingredients.

I thought a glaze would work better than the recommended butter and cinnamon sugar topping, at least where my kids are concerned. Besides, I prefer the floor as clean as I can keep it. A glaze just makes sense!

For the glaze, simply combine the following ingredients in a medium sized bowl:

• 1 cup of icing sugar sifted together with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cream (you may need 3 if you feel it is too thick)
• 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter.

Blend together with a fork. Spread onto muffin tops while still warm. I just put a dollop in the center of each muffin and let it ooze down the sides. The glaze will dry and form a smooth topping as it cools.

ENJOY !

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Featured Here: FOODIE FRIDAY !

Featured at Ekat's Kitchen's Friday Potluck

White Chocolate Pecan Banana Bread

Banana Bread - a childhood favorite. An adult favorite. Hey, it is an ALL TIME favorite!

This one is loaded with chunks of white chocolate and chopped pecans.

I grew up eating slices of banana bread topped with butter. There truly is nothing comparable.

HERE WE GO !

Some of your basic ingredients: overripe bananas, white chocolate and pecans

Rather than going with one large loaf pan I decided to use 4 small loaf pans.
When moving to smaller pans, I had to reduce the baking time
by approximately 10 minutes.

4 little loaves of delight cooling for a bit in their pans

Golden brown and baked to perfection. All it takes is a 350F oven for 35 minutes!

The sweetness of the white chocolate plus the crunch of pecans
make these little guys BIG WINNERS !

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 medium or 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup fine white sugar
1/3 cup of vegetable oil (I use Becel)
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 squares of white baking chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup chopped pecans

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
GREASE 4 small loaf tins or one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan

COMBINE flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and spices with whisk
MASH bananas
ADD sugar to bananas and stir with wooden spoon until well combined
STIR in oil, eggs and vanilla to banana mixture until well blended
ADD flour to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Do not overmix
FOLD in baking chocolate and pecans

DIVIDE batter between 4 loaf tins or one large loaf pan
RAP tins gently on counter to remove any air bubbles

BAKE for 35 minute if using 4 small loaf tins or 45 minutes (checking with a toothpick at 40 minutes)

ALLOW loaves to cool in tins on a baking rack for 5 minutes
REMOVE loafs from tins and let cool completely. Trying to slice a loaf while it is still too warm can result in one big mess!

HAUL out butter, spread on a nice thick slice and ENJOY !!