Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Glazed Donuts (Baked!)
I promised you all I’d be back with more gluten-free donuts, and here I am! These gluten-free, dairy-free double chocolate glazed donuts are just…well…
Adjectives just fail me a little here. These easy, baked donuts are sweet, but not too sweet. They’re rich and chocolatey. They’re moist, tender, and soft. Oh, and they’re covered in a mouthwatering mandarin orange glaze that adds just the perfect amount of zippiness. They’re just like old-fashioned cake donuts, but gluten-free and dairy-free! I couldn’t even handle just having one. I had to have two. Okay, maybe I had two and a half. Don’t judge.
Why these gluten-free chocolate glazed donuts work.
This easy, baked donut recipe is very similar to our Classic Pumpkin Spiced Maine Potato Doughnuts. However, I think you all will find these to be slightly lighter and fluffier. To achieve this texture, we employ some pretty tried and true traditional and gluten-free baking methods here.
The flour:
To make the donuts gluten-free, I used my old standby of King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure flour. It already contains xanthan gum and you can use it in the same proportions as regular baking flour, so if you’re new to GF baking, this will make things way easier on you. It also has a nice, neutral flavor (unlike some other cup-for-cup GF flours) so it won’t adversely flavor your dough.
The milk:
Next, we use some full-fat coconut milk to make these donuts dairy free! I find that coconut milk is my favorite non-dairy milk for baking. It’s got a high fat content, which makes it similar to whole milk or cream. Therefore, the end results of your dairy-free baking tend to be closer to the “real thing,” and thus, far more satisfying.
The tips and tricks:
The next trick we have up our sleeve is the addition of canola oil. Oil gets a bad rap, I know. But, hear me out: adding just a quarter cup of it to your cake recipes makes them twice as moist and twice as fluffy as they would be without it. I learned this trick from the amazing Samin Nosrat in her book, Salt Fat Acid Heat. First of all, I should say that this cookbook is the Joy of Cooking for the modern age. It teaches so many valuable techniques for improvisation in your cooking, making you feel free to experiment up a storm. Get it. Read it. Soak up all of the knowledge ;).
Second of all, the oil trick really works. After all, why do you think most store-bought cake mixes have you add oil?
Finally, because we like our gluten free and dairy free donuts to be reeeeeallllllyyyyyy moist, we throw in a tablespoon of applesauce to keep things nice and hydrated. If you’ve never heard of using applesauce in baking, it’s pretty interesting. Basically, you can use it to replace fats in your baked goods so that they contain less calories. Or, you can use it to increase moisture, which is what we’re doing here. We actually tried separate batches of these double chocolate donuts with vegan butter and applesauce, and the applesauce VASTLY improved the texture! By employing both the oil trick and the applesauce trick, we made some seriously tender donuts.
And that’s about it! The rest is pretty straightforward. All of these simple ingredients make the donuts come out of the oven super puffy and happy (just like Karl in this picture when he looks out the back door for squirrels! :D).
Then we pour all that orange, melt-in-your mouth glaze onto our gluten-free double chocolate donuts, and bada-bing-bada-BOOM! Fabulous, chocolatey donut perfection.
Some notes:
Equipment:
You will definitely need a donut pan for these baked donuts. I like this Nordic Ware one.
It’s non-stick, really easy to clean, and durable for frequent use (because we definitely make these things frequently…).
To make these vegan:
Simply add two flax eggs in place of the regular eggs! Find the flax egg recipe here, and turn these into delicious vegan donuts!
And there you have it! Eat up and enjoy! And, be sure to let us know if you made these chocolate glazed donuts, and how they turned out!
Equipment
- Doughnut pan
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1.5 cups gluten-free measure for measure flour *we like King Arthur Brand
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 2/3 cup coconut milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tbsp. applesauce unsweetened
For the sweet orange glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. mandarin orange zest
- 3 tbsp. orange juice
- 3 tbsp. almond milk
Instructions
For the donuts:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a donut pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine all wet ingredients and whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Add wet ingredients to bowl with dry ingredients and stir thoroughly with a spatula until a sticky, thick dough forms.
- Fill donut pan with dough using two spoons and ensuring that each slot is filled evenly. Smooth the tops of the donuts and hit the pan on the counter several times to make sure the doughnuts won't have air bubbles.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Set aside on a cooling rack until the doughnuts are cool enough to remove.
To make glaze and serve the donuts:
- Combine all glaze ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly until very smooth. Pour desired amount of glaze over donuts and serve.
- Refrigerate donuts covered with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.
- Pro tip: Transfer glaze to a squeeze bottle and use that for precision glazing. If you don't have a squeeze bottle, use a spoon.