A gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free AND grain-free Doughnut Recipe
Mila has been asking for doughnuts for going on 2 years now. She has seen them in the grocery store and, as with other ready-made food items, she picks them up, smells them (through the packaging), looks up at me and says “Mama can you make these for me please?” For 2 years I have been saying that I would make her doughnuts and, finally, I have!
Key: gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, grain-free, nut-free, paleo, vegetarian, great for adults too
Makes: 12 round doughnuts or 30 doughnut balls*
*I find the doughnut balls have a better texture than the round-shaped doughnuts.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
(t. = teaspoon; T. = tablespoon, C. = cup)
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- 2 C. Cassava Flour
- 1 C. non-GMO xylitol or Erythritol ground in a coffee grinder
- 1 t. guar gum
- 1 t. aluminium-free baking powder
- ½ t. desert or sea salt
- 1 egg + 1 egg white
- ¼ C. coconut oil, melted
- ½ t. vanilla extract
- 1 C. coconut milk
- 1 t. apple cider vinegar
- 2 ½ t. dry active yeast
- 2 C additional coconut oil for frying.
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FOR THE GLAZE
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- ½ C. xylitol, ground in a coffee grinder
- ½ C. coconut butter
- ½ t. vanilla extract
- 3 T. coconut milk
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FOR A DUST COAT
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- 1 C. xylitol
- 3 t. cinnamon powder
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METHOD
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- Place the coconut milk in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until just simmering. Turn the heat off and stir in the yeast and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cassava flour, xylitol, guar gum. Baking powder and salt. Stir with a whisk to mix.
- Next add the egg and egg white, melted coconut oil and vanilla essence. Stir with a spoon.
- Fit your electric beater with the dough hook, place it in the mixing bowl and turn it on. Slowly pour in the milk mixture while beating.
- Beat until your dough comes together in a ball.
- Turn the dough onto a sheet of baking paper. Cover with another sheet of baking paper and roll it out to approximately 2 cm thick.
- Flour a doughnut cutter and cut the dough into doughnut shapes. Gather the remaining dough, re-roll and cut until you have used all the dough. Alternatively, break pieces of the dough off and roll into doughnut balls.
- Place the doughnuts on a baking tray lined with baking paper and place them in your (turned-off) oven with a bowl of boiling water alongside them to rise.
- While the doughnuts are rising make the glaze or the dust coat.
For the Glaze I used the cupcake icing recipe from my book, Mila’s Meals: The Beginning and The Basics with a slight variation (coconut butter instead of coconut oil). In a small saucepan melt the coconut butter over low heat while stirring. Once melted, add the xylitol, vanilla essence and coconut milk. Turn the heat off and set aside until the donuts are cooked and cooled. For the dust coat: Mix the xylitol with the cinnamon and pour onto a plate. Set aside until the donuts are cooked. - After the doughnuts have risen for half an hour, heat the additional coconut oil in a heavy-based pan. Test the oil to see if it is hot enough by dropping a small piece of doughnut dough into it. If the oil immediately starts bubbling around the doughnut – it is ready to use.
- One by one, place the doughnuts into the hot oil with a slotted spoon. Cook for 30 seconds – 1 minute on each side, turning frequently until golden brown all over. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon, and place on a wire wrack to cool or if you are dusting them, onto the plate with the xylitol and cinnamon – roll them around to coat them in the dust.
- If you are using the glaze, wait for the doughnuts to cool, then dip them into the glaze.
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Doughnuts ready to rise.
Ta Da! Gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and grain-free doughnuts!
Are you new to Cassava Flour?
This is my new favourite ingredient! Not only is it gluten-free but it is grain-free too.
Take a look at my Paleo Breadsticks Recipe and Paleo Pancake Recipe which use Cassava Flour too.
Why do I love cassava flour so much?
While being gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free initially worked for Mila and myself (in that my eczema disappeared and so did Mila’s green poo’s) the added stress that later transpired in our lives brought back my eczema and Mila often suffered from constipation. I realized that both our symptoms were worse after eating grains. So while I knew about the Paleo eating protocol (and had sworn I would never cut out another food group from my diet), I found myself and Mila doing just that!
And so many of the recipes that had lovingly made their way into my book, were no longer made. While there were alternatives such as almond flour and coconut flour, I haven’t baked much with these due to the cost of almond flour, and my inability to get anything to be edible with only coconut flour!
And then Cassava Flour arrived in South Africa! I immediately ordered some and I have been busy re-testing/ re-creating my recipes using it ever since.
Some of the highlights:
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- Gluten-free baking requires a combination of gluten-free flours to achieve an edible density and flavor. But, Cassava Flour substitutes 1:1 with ordinary wheat flour in many of your favorite recipes. One flour per recipe! It is, however, a thirsty flour – so you may need to adjust the liquids in your recipe.
- Grain-free baking meant you had to use almond flour or coconut flour (expensive and dry!). And what about those with nut-allergies? Cassava Flour is GMO‑free, Gluten‑Free, Grain‑Free, and Nut‑Free!
- And… very importantly – its tastes amazing!
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Add this recipe to your collection:
Paleo Doughnuts
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl
- electric beater
- doughnut cutter
- baking tray
Ingredients
Doughnut Batter
- 2 cups cassava flour
- 1 cup non-GMO xylitol or erythritol
- 1 tsp guar gum
- 1 tsp aluminium-free baking powder
- 1/2 tsp desert or sea salt
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
- 2 cups coconut oil additional
Glaze
- 1/2 cup non-GMO xylitol ground in a coffee grinder
- 1/2 cup coconut butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp coconut milk
Dusting
- 1 cup xylitol
- 3 tsp cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Place the coconut milk in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until just simmering. Turn the heat off and stir in the yeast and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cassava flour, xylitol, guar gum. Baking powder and salt. Stir with a whisk to mix.
- Next add the egg and egg white, melted coconut oil and vanilla essence. Stir with a spoon.
- Fit your electric beater with the dough hook, place it in the mixing bowl and turn it on. Slowly pour in the milk mixture while beating.
- Beat until your dough comes together in a ball.
- Turn the dough onto a sheet of baking paper. Cover with another sheet of baking paper and roll it out to approximately 2 cm thick.
- Flour a doughnut cutter and cut the dough into doughnut shapes. Gather the remaining dough, re-roll and cut until you have used all the dough. Alternatively, break pieces of the dough off and roll into doughnut balls.
- Place the doughnuts on a baking tray lined with baking paper and place them in your (turned-off) oven with a bowl of boiling water alongside them to rise.
- While the doughnuts are rising make the glaze or the dust coat.
- For the Glaze I used the cupcake icing recipe from my book, Mila’s Meals: The Beginning and The Basics with a slight variation (coconut butter instead of coconut oil). In a small saucepan melt the coconut butter over low heat while stirring. Once melted, add the xylitol, vanilla essence and coconut milk. Turn the heat off and set aside until the donuts are cooked and cooled. For the dust coat: Mix the xylitol with the cinnamon and pour onto a plate. Set aside until the donuts are cooked.
- After the doughnuts have risen for half an hour, heat the additional coconut oil in a heavy-based pan. Test the oil to see if it is hot enough by dropping a small piece of doughnut dough into it. If the oil immediately starts bubbling around the doughnut – it is ready to use.
- One by one, place the doughnuts into the hot oil with a slotted spoon. Cook for 30 seconds – 1 minute on each side, turning frequently until golden brown all over. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon, and place on a wire wrack to cool or if you are dusting them, onto the plate with the xylitol and cinnamon – roll them around to coat them in the dust.
- If you are using the glaze, wait for the doughnuts to cool, then dip them into the glaze.
Notes
*I find the doughnut balls have a better texture than the round-shaped doughnuts.
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