free of gluten and top 8 allergens
If you’ve never made doughnuts before, this is the perfect recipe. These pumpkin doughnuts are easy and ever so soft, so irresistible and so deliciously smothered in a chocolate glaze.
Top them with a glaze or with cinnamon-sugar for the ultimate fall treat!
We first developed these pumpkin doughnuts for Allergic Living magazine. However, we’ve made some slight variations with this version.
For our first batch, we made a flour blend with sorghum flour, gluten-free oat flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch. Because we love these pumpkin doughnuts so much, we made a second batch substituting King Arthur Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour for our flour blend.
Both doughnuts were a winner! The doughnuts using our flour blend had a bit of an earthy taste, which we liked. However, there’s not a huge difference. If you don’t have these flours onhand or don’t use them often, it doesn’t make sense to add something to your pantry that you may not use again. So, go with your favorite flour blend. Be sure to omit the xanthan gum if your blend already contains it.
mise en place
Start by making the flax eggs, whisking together flaxseed meal and water. If egg allergy is not an issue and you’re not vegan, you can substitute 2 large eggs, pasture-raised and organic, if possible.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin puree, alternative milk, maple syrup, grapeseed or canola oil, pure vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar.
Combine the gluten-free flour blend, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until ingredients are combined, without overmixing. The batter will be thick.
Using a piping bag fitted with a round tip or a large ziplock bag with 1/2-inch snipped off the corner, pipe the batter evenly in lightly greased doughnut pans (cavities 3-1/2″ in diameter).
Place in an oven preheated to 350-degrees F and bake for 12-14 minutes, until doughnuts spring back when touched. Be careful not to over bake, checking for doneness after 10 minutes. Cooking times may vary depending on oven.
Remove doughnuts from the oven and cool slightly before inverting them onto a cooling rack.
The top of the doughnuts now become the bottom.
Chocolate Glaze
When the doughnuts have completely cooled, sift together powdered sugar and unsweetened cacao powder. Slowly stir in alternative milk, such as unsweetened hemp or rice milk, and vanilla extract. We suggest not adding all the milk at the beginning. The glaze shouldn’t be too thin or too thick. If you need a touch more milk to make this a dippable glaze, gradually add more until desired consistency is achieved. Leftover glaze can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
With your thumb on the outside and your index finger in the doughnut hole, pick up a cooled doughnut and dip the top into the glaze, coating halfway or a little more than halfway. Place doughnut on a wire rack, glaze side up, until glaze sets. Use a baking sheet underneath to catch drips.
We think chocolate and pumpkin were made for each other. But we’d love these pumpkin doughnuts plain or with any topping, such as…
Maple Glaze
Whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup, 2 tablespoons milk (or more as needed).
Cinnamon Sugar
Mix 3/4 cup granulated sugar with 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon. Melt 3 tablespoons allergy-friendly butter or margarine. While the doughnuts are still slightly warm, brush all over with melted margarine, then dip them in cinnamon sugar to coat.
Chef Mary’s Tip
Have you ever wondered why glaze weeps on a doughnut, or why when you put a lollipop in the fridge, it melts? Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture. Doughnut glazes absorb moisture from the doughnut and also from humidity in the air. So don’t worry if you can’t finish eating all the doughnuts before they begin to weep.
Well, why do doughnuts from the store or bakery not weep as fast as homemade ones? The truth is, donut glaze stabilizers are manufactured just for the doughnut industry. I’ve worked with those stabilizers in many bakeries. I prefer to skip the stabilizers and all the other artificial ingredients used in many bakeries and make my own doughnuts.
So don’t wrap leftover doughnuts tightly in plastic, or they’ll become soggy. If you’re not going to finish the doughnuts in one sitting, add the glaze or cinnamon sugar coating only to those you’ll eat. Store the rest without their glaze or sugar on a plate covered with a cake cover. If you do put them in a container, line the container with 2 layers of paper towels and place doughnuts in a single layer, covering with more paper towels. The paper towels will help in absorbing moisture.
Chocolate Glazed Pumpkin Doughnuts
Yield 12 doughnuts
Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.
Delicious pumpkin doughnuts, smothered in a chocolate glaze!
Ingredients
Donuts
6 tbsp lukewarm water
2 tbsp ground flaxseed meal (see recipe notes)
2/3 cup sorghum flour (see recipe notes)
2/3 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup potato starch (see recipe notes)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup alternative milk, such as unsweetened hemp or rice
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp canola or grapeseed oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cacao powder
3-4 tbsp alternative milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- For donuts, preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare the donut pans by coating cavities (3 1/2-inches in diameter) lightly with dairy-free margarine. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together water and flaxseed meal. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the sorghum flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. If the baking powder and baking soda contain lumps, sift into the flours. Set dry ingredients aside.
- Return to flaxseed mixture and vigorously whisk. It will be gelatinous. To the flax eggs, add pumpkin puree, milk, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract, and vinegar. Whisk until blended.
- Fold the wet mixture into dry ingredients. Stir just until ingredients are combined, without overmixing. The batter will be thick.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a round tip or a large ziplock bag with ½-inch snipped off the corner, pipe the batter evenly into cavities, filling each a little over half full. Bake for approximately 12 – 14 minutes, until doughnuts spring back when touched, being careful not to over bake. Set your timer for 10 minutes to start checking for doneness. Cooking times may vary depending on oven.
- Remove doughnuts from the oven when done and cool slightly before inverting them onto a cooling rack. The top of the doughnuts will now become the bottom.
- For the glaze, when the doughnuts have completely cooled, sift together powdered sugar and unsweetened cacao powder. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of milk and vanilla extract. Whisking until smooth, gradually add more milk a teaspoon at a time as needed to make a dippable glaze.
- With thumb on the outside and index finger in hole, pick up a cooled doughnut and dip the top into the glaze, coating halfway or a little more than halfway. Remove and gently shake doughnut upside down to remove excess glaze. Place doughnut on a wire rack, glaze side up, until glaze sets. Depending on humidity, it may take an hour for the glaze to set. It will be dry to the touch. Use a baking sheet underneath to catch drips. Glaze remaining doughnuts.
Notes
- If egg allergy is not an issue and you're not vegan, you can substitute 2 large eggs, pasture-raised & organic, if possible.
- The sorghum flour, gluten-free oat flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch can be replaced with 2 cups of your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Omit the xanthan gum if it's already in your blend.
- There is a difference between potato flour and potato starch. Potato flour is made from whole potatoes while potato starch is only from the starch.
- We first developed pumpkin doughnuts for Allergic Living magazine.
Courses Breakfast & Brunch