15 December

Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. - Mary Ellen Chase

Paleo Doughnut Recipe

(gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, grain-free, nut-free)

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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 have been saying that I would make her doughnuts and, finally, I have!

I so wish I could have been a fly on the wall at her school the other day when she received her present from Father Christmas (he came to THEIR school 🙂 – Mila was gobsmacked!). The parents were asked to buy and wrap a present for “Father Christmas” to give them. While her friends unwrapped glittery dresses and Barbie dolls (both of which Mila would have loved), she got a… doughnut machine 🙂 She was absolutely delighted! “Now I get to have my OWN doughnuts” she shrieked when I collected her from school!

So we set about learning how to make doughnuts. I used this recipe from Health Riot for the batter to use in the doughnut machine – the recipe makes delicious tasting doughnuts, but the thing is… the doughnut machine squashes them! They don’t come out like the tall fluffy ones we have seen in the shop. So… we ditched Father Christmas’ present and set about making them the old-school way… many times… with many variations – all using Health Riot’s Cassava Flour, because it is gluten-free and grain-free!

I am finally happy with the recipe, and here it is!

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.

INGREDIENTS

(t. = teaspoon; T. = tablespoon, C. = cup)

2 C. Health Riot’s Cassava Flour
1 C. GMO-free xylitol, ground in a coffee grinder
1 t. guar gum
1 t. aluminium-free baking powder
½ t. Himalayan 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.

FOR THE GLAZE

½ C. xylitol, ground in a coffee grinder
½ C. coconut butter
½ t. vanilla extract
3 T. coconut milk

FOR A DUST COAT

1 C. xylitol
3 t. cinnamon powder

METHOD

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 donuts 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.

Doughnuts ready to rise.

Ta Da!

Are you new to Cassava Flour?

This is my new favourite ingredient! Not only is it gluten-free but it is grain-free too. You can find out more about it on Health Riot’s website and it is available from Faithful-To-Nature.

Take a look at my Paleo Breadsticks Recipe and Paleo Pancake Recipe which use Health Riot’s Cassava Flour too.

Introducing Health Riot’s Cassava Flour

“From the tropical fields of Brazil, meet Premium Cassava Flour, your new best friend for life. It’s everything you ever wanted in a flour and less! It’s got the same fluffy texture and mild neutral flavour of ordinary wheat flour; but no GMO, no allergenic wheat, gluten, grains or nuts.

So you’ll get none of the bad stuff and loads of the good! It’s the best Cassava on the planet.

Health Riot’s Premium Cassava Flour is GMO‑free, Gluten‑Free, Grain‑Free, and Nut‑Free and has the taste and texture of ordinary wheat flour. It’s also PERFECT FOR PALEO.” – www.healthriot.co.za

Why do I love it 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 in October I saw the announcement on Faithful-To-Nature’s Facebook page that Health Riot’s Cassava Flour had been launched! I immediately ordered some and I have been busy re-testing/ re-creating my recipes using it ever since.

Some of the highlights:

Gluten-free baking requires a combination of gluten-free flours to achieve an edible density and flavor. But, Health Riot’s Premium Cassava Flour substitutes 1:1 with ordinary wheat flour in many of your favorite recipes. One flour per recipe!
Grain-free baking meant you had to use almond flour or coconut flour (expensive and dry!). And what about those with nut-allergies? Health Riot’s Premium Cassava Flour is GMO‑free, Gluten‑Free, Grain‑Free, and Nut‑Free!
And… very importantly – its tastes amazing!

Find out more about this amazing flour on Health Riot’s website.

(They have some great recipes created by Chef Jason Whitehead on their website!)

Health Riot’s Cassava Flour is available from Faithful-To-Nature