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!

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. Cassava Flour
1 C. GMO-free xylitol, 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.

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.