Gluten-Free & Vegan Pumpkin Spice Donuts
These Baked Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Donuts are the best and they are so healthy! They are spicy, light and airy, and are enjoyable with or without the icing. PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) season is in full force right now, and it seems to be everywhere. But most pumpkin spice products are full of artificial flavoring and mostly just sugar. I love pumpkin spice, but I really dislike the artificial flavourings that come with it.
Personally, I haven’t had a donut in years! I am on a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, and donuts are rarely an option for me. I was researching restaurants the other day and saw that they had gluten-free & vegan donuts available! I was psyched! Sadly, when I arrived, I was told those donuts were actually not gluten-free, nor were they vegan and were mislabelled on their website. Disappointed and needing to satisfy my craving, I decided to put matters into my own hands.
Healthy pumpkin Spice Donuts
Although donuts are traditionally more of an indulgence than healthy, these pumpkin spice donuts are so nutritious, low caloric, low sugar. First and foremost, I wanted to make them lower in sugar because I am quite sensitive to sweets. I used coconut sugar instead of regular sugar because my system seems to manage a lot better with it and it tastes really delicious too! Its got almost a caramel taste to it and combine that with the pumpkin spice and you have yourself the best pumpkin spice donuts you’ll ever taste!
My first attempt at building this baked pumpkin spice donut recipe was total flop. I turned a vegan donut recipe into gluten-free and unfortunately ended up too dry for a batter then added milk, and then the dough just wouldn’t cook right. What a mess! So, I made a few tweaks, and I’m proud to say that this version is awesome!
Making gluten-free & vegan pumpkin Spice Donuts
The key to a good Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Donuts recipe is having the right balance of baking soda, baking powder, and apple cider vinegar. When you mix in the apple cider vinegar, you might notice the chemistry reaction happening. Putting the apple cider vinegar and This is what makes your donuts lite and fluffy. Depending on your gluten-free flour mix, your batter might be a little drier. Feel free to add more almond milk until you have more or less of the same consistency. For this recipe you will also need a recipe for the Pumpkin Spice Blend.
Piping the Donuts into the Mold
You could use a regular piping bag for this step. However if you were like me at the time and don’t own a piping bag, I have an alternative for you. Upon researching online, I saw that people were using Ziplock bags for piping their batter into the molds. This was a lifesaver and worked so well. Simply put your Ziplock bag inside a glass and wrap the edges of the bag around the rim. Then spoon in your batter and close the bag. Cut off one of your corners and pipe away! The great part about this is that you don’t have to clean it up after. If you feel your donuts are looking a little lumpy in the mold, gently shake and tap the mold until it flattens out.
Baking & Decorating the Donuts
Pop it in the oven for 18 minutes, then let cool. The cooling process is crucial if you want to put icing or else it will just melt and won’t look very nice. If you put them in the fridge before serving them, the icing will keep much better.
Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Equipment
- Donut mould
Ingredients
- 1 cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp Pumpkin spice
see link above - ½ cup Coconut sugar
- 1 cup Almond milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ cup Pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup Olive oil
Pumpkin Spice Icing
- 2 cups Powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp Almond milk (or plant-based milk of choice)
- 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tbsp Maple syrup
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350˚F (170˚C). Grease donut pan with coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Stir in the milk, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and pumpkin puree. Stir until well combined.
- Using a Ziplock bag as a pipeline tool, pour batter inside and cut off about a 1/2 in. of one of the corners of your bag. Carefully pour in your batter into the donut pan. If the batter is looking a little uneven, you can carefully shake it to avoid having a bumpy donut.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the donuts comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing them from the pan.
Icing
- Pour icing sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin spice, and milk and whisk together until smooth.
- Once donuts have cooled, dip away! Refrigerate and enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Donut Nutrition
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