Gluten Free Oat/Sorghum Mini Cake Donuts

The Trial and Error

I have been making mini gluten free donuts for several months. But, all my attempts went in the trash. They were not terrible but they were not great either. I needed to work on the taste and texture for that is the promise of a good cake donut.

The first time I tried this particular recipe, they tasted very good but the texture was not there. They didn't have enough body because when picked up, the donut crumbled, even when cold. So, for the next trial, the amount of flour was increased. Bingo -- the texture much improved. They weren't as sweet as before but I didn't add more sugar; the sugar topping would remedy that.  

What To Do With Left Over Sugar/Cinnamon Topping

When I made the low-sugar topping, dipped the donuts in the melted butter, and then dipped them in the topping, I thought they were good enough to post. As I started cleaning up, there was a small amount of sugar/cinnamon topping and butter left. I was going to throw it out and the bell in my head rang. I got a couple tablespoons of cream cheese out, put it in a small bowl with the sugar topping and butter and beat it. I didn't think I could pipe it so I added about a teaspoon of half & half and beat it until it was very smooth. I piped it on top of the sugar topping. Oh, my gosh, that cinnamon cream cheese was a perfect final topping. Next time I will try to be a little more artistic when piping.

Gluten Free Oat/Sorghum Mini Cake Donuts

Dry ingredients:

1/3 cup (40g) oat flour  

1/3 cup (40 g) sorghum flour   

2 tablespoons (7 g) almond flour/meal 

1 tablespoon powdered buttermilk, powdered whey or powdered milk of choice

1 tablespoon seed dust*

1 tablespoon sugar or sugar substitute or combination of both

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:

2 tablespoons milk of choice or water

2 tablespoons applesauce

1 1/2 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping: 

1 tablespoon granular sugar

1 tablespoon Stevia in the raw, granular sugar or any dry sweetener of choice.

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Cream Cheese Piping:

1 teaspoon of leftover sugar topping

1/2 - 1 teaspoon left over dipping butter

1-2 tablespoons cream cheese

1 teaspoon milk or half & half

Directions:

Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Stir the wet ingredients together. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes to help the gluten free flour hydrate.

Spoon the batter into a plastic zipper bag. Cut a small corner off the bag. Gently squeeze the batter evenly into 12 mini indentions of the mini donut pan. Bake at 325℉ for 10-12 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick or a very light touch. There should be only a few to no dry crumbs on the toothpick. The donuts should bounce back when lightly touched. Do not press too hard or the donuts might no longer rise if you have to put them back in the oven.

When the donuts are done, remove from oven and let them cool in the pan about 5 minutes. (They are very delicate when hot and will break apart.) Place on a cooling rack. When the donuts seem sturdy (in about 5-10 minutes), dip the top of a donut in the melted butter and then dip in the sugar topping. Place back on the cooking rack and dip the remaining donuts.

The donuts can be eaten with only the sugar topping, but the cream cheese adds a great flavor. To make the cream cheese piping, cream the cream cheese with the leftover sugar topping, melted butter and milk or half & half. Whip until perfectly combined with no lumps. Place in a plastic zippered bag, cut a small hole in a corner. (You can also using a pastry bag). Pipe the cream cheese in a design you like.

If you choose, you can skip the sugar topping and use only the cream cheese piping as a glaze or any frosting of choice. For the cinnamon cream cheese,  mix 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon sugar substitute (or only sugar can be used), 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons cream cheese and 1 teaspoon or more of milk or half & half. Gently dip the donuts in the glaze or spoon the glaze over the top of the donuts.

As you can see from the first photo, these donuts weren't actually this dark.

Other variations to the recipe:
1. Add 1/4 cup or more mini chocolate chips to the batter before baking. Finely chopped nuts can be added with the mini chocolate chips.
2. Add 2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa.
3. Make a vanilla or chocolate cream cheese glaze using the recipe at this site or use your own recipes for any flavor you like.
4. Skip adding the cinnamon to batter and add small or dried blueberries or other fruit.
5. Use the batter to make mini muffins. Using a pastry bag, fill the muffins with the cinnamon cream cheese glaze or any other filling wanted. Frost with chocolate, vanilla or the same cinnamon cream cheese glaze.
6. These will make 6 regular sized donuts. Bake 12-15 minutes.
7. Sprinkles are always in order but be sure they are gluten free.

*The seed dust is 1 tablespoon from ground seeds (20 grams flaxseed, 10 grams chia seeds, and 5 grams of psyllium husk powder).

Resources:

"Cream Filled Cupcakes." Allrecipes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 June 2015. <http://allrecipes.com/video/1477/cream-filled-cupcakes/detail.aspx>.

"Filling a Cupcake." Wilton.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 June 2015. <http://www.wilton.com/technique/Filling-a-Cupcake>.

Pellegrinelli, Carroll. "Cream Cheese Glaze (Frosting) Recipe." N.p., n.d. Web. 07 June 2015. <http://baking.about.com/od/frostingsandicings/r/Cream-Cheese-Glaze.htm>.

"Pixie Dust Xanthan Gum Replacer." GlutenFree Doctor. N.p., 17 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 June 2015. <http://glutenfreedoctor.com/pixie-dust-xanthan-gum-replacer/>.