So the holidays are upon us… It’s a lovely time of baking in my home kitchen! Every year at this time, I spend countless hours making lots of paleo goodies for my family and friends, for various holiday celebrations, and a whole bunch of ‘just because’ yumminess to nosh on.
This year, I decided to take on a ‘donut project’ which quickly turned into a donut hole project. Hanukkah is often associated with sufganiyot or otherwise known as round jelly donuts that are served during Hanukkah. Now, there are plenty of delicious paleo recipes for donuts, including filled donuts. But creating a nut-free version that is also free of coconut (my daughter has a coconut allergy) is more complicated. I do have a donut pan but of course, it has a hole in the middle. These donut pans are easy to bake delicious donuts in with my basic Simply Paleo muffin/cupcake baking mix, but for filled donuts, I needed to go back to the drawing board!
Traditionally, donuts are fried. So I decided to attempt to fry (large) donut holes in avocado oil. As I created three different types of batter to test out, the project became sillier and sillier… In the end, the best batter that won out was my pancake batter. I modified the recipe slightly by reducing the milk to 1/4 cup and adding 1/4 cup maple sugar to sweeten the batter. The challenge with this batter is that it is liquid. I ended using a retractable ice cream scooper to scoop the batter into the hot avocado oil. I then let it float/fry in the oil for about 5 minutes and then carefully flipped it and let it fry for an additional 5 minutes. The biggest challenge was knowing how long to fry them for because often, it appeared like it was cooked through but then through (lots of) taste testing of the initial donut holes, we found that sometimes there was a little loose batter in the center.
In the end, the donut holes were delicious! I created a glaze by mixing 1/2 pound maple cream, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup arrowroot powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 tbs hemp milk. Then I dunked the donut holes (once they cooled slightly) in the glaze and rolled them around a little. I then laid them on a rack over parchment paper and waited until the glaze was hardened. Mmmmm, so yummy!
All in a all, a very funny project with lots of silly banter about which batter to use and whether we should taste test one more donut! But mostly, it was a very fun time with my family in my kitchen which for me, is what the holiday time is about– time with my family, enjoying each other’s company, and feeling grateful for our health and all of our blessings!
Check out the various recipes below for how to make traditional donuts in a donut pan and also how to fry donut holes in oil!
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- avocado oil
- 1/2 cup tigernut flour sifted through sieve to reduce clumping
- 1/4 cup cassava flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
- 1/4 cup maple sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened hemp milk or other milk substitute of choice
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 pound maple cream
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 tbs unsweetened hemp milk or other milk substitute
Ingredients
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- Pour enough avocado oil into large skillet (cast iron works well!) to fill 2-3 inches.
- Heat avocado oil until candy thermometer reads 375 degrees F.
- Layer paper towels over rack and set aside.
- Mix tigernut flour, cassava flour, ¼ cup arrowroot powder, maple sugar, baking powder, ½ tsp sea salt together. Add ¼ cup milk, eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla and mix well to create smooth batter.
- Using retractable ice cream scooper, carefully scoop batter into hot oil and let float/fry for 5 minutes. Then, carefully flip to other side and fry for additional 5 minutes.
- Then, using slotted spoon, carefully remove donut hole and place on paper towel lined rack to drain and cool slightly.
- Once all donut holes are completed and draining on rack, begin to make glaze.
- Add maple cream, ¼ cup arrowroot powder, 1 pinch sea salt, and 1 tbs milk to mixer and mix well until smooth consistency.
- Remove paper towels from rack under donut holes and place rack over sheet of parchment paper.
- Carefully coat each donut hole in glaze and then lay on rack over parchment paper to drain excess glaze.
- Once glaze hardens, you can fill them if you choose with jelly or other filling.
- Then, enjoy!
There are many ways to vary this recipe for different flavors. You can add 1/4 cup of sifted raw cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder into the dry batter mix to create a chocolate flavor. You can also create a chocolate glaze by replacing the arrowroot powder in the glaze recipe with 1/4 cup cacao powder. This will create a deliciously decadent chocolate glaze/frosting that is a little less sweet but so yummy! You can also create a mixture of maple sugar and cinnamon and then roll the donut holes in that to create an apple cider donut effect! A separate filling idea is to create a naturally sweetened lemon curd recipe to fill the donut hole with, or using the maple or chocolate glaze recipe to fill the donut hole for a creamier center! Play around with the options and have fun!