I knew I had put one of my donut recipes up on An American Housewife already (the apple cinnamon version) and I was shocked to see it was a full year ago. What!? That's impossible... well, it feels like it anyway. A year? But yes, January of 2020. Ahh... 2020. There you go. A year that messed with everyone's head.
So the apple cinnamon baked donut recipe is up here, but today's my favorite kind. Blueberry Cake Donuts. The photos above are from my Instagram account obviously as you can see I said the recipe would be on my website soon. Today is 'soon'.
TWO VERSIONS
I do not like donuts as a rule. I do not like yeast, raised, glazed donuts at all. Not even a smidgen. Not even the big popular name brand that everyone swoons over. Krispy might be in their name. I gag even thinking of having to eat one and I know with all that sugar I'd throw up. Literally.
But I've always loved plain cake donuts and crullers. The only two kinds I like. And if given the choice of flavors of cake donuts I'd either choose completely 'plain' or blueberry.
I had been craving a blueberry cake donut and I had ordered blueberry extract flavoring online last summer with the intention of making them and a blueberry keto granola cereal. I finally got the time to make the donuts and had time to make them two (2) different ways to see if I liked one more than the other. Because I typically do not love 'baked' donuts. You might as well just make a muffin. It's not the same as a lovely, delicious, traditionally fried donut. But I did make them both ways this last time.
For this recipe, it's best to make the dough up the night before you want to make them so it has time to chill for a few hours.
Blueberry Cake Donuts (keto - low carb and sugar free)
1 c almond flour
1/2 c coconut flour
1 t xanthan powder
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 c mixture of 2-3 granular sweeteners (or a brand that uses a mixture already such as allulose/erythritol or monkfruit blend)
1/3 c almond milk
2 T melted shortening (not coconut oil)
1/8 t gelatin powder - unsweetened, plain gelatin
flavoring of choice - about 1/4 - 1/2 t depending on your tastes and the strength/brand you use
For the glaze:
Extra 'powdered' or 'confectioners' version of sweetener like Lakanto or SoNourished
almond milk
In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients; almond and coconut flour, xanthan, baking powder and salt.
In a second bowl mix the eggs with the sweetener until frothy (about 3-4 minutes) and then sprinkle the dry gelatin powder over top.
Add the melted shortening and almond milk to the egg mixture with the flavor extract or emulsion you are using; and whisk everything together for a minute to blend smooth. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together briefly; either with a paddle attachment on a mixer or by hand with a stiff rubber spatula or wooden spoon. When blended together, cover and chill overnight or at least 6 hours.
Prepare oil for frying (if you are frying them) - I found the fry best in a cast iron deep pan with Crisco shortening. I fried some (below) in regular canola oil first because I have a large bottle of it on hand to use up, but the almond/coconut flour really soaks up the oil something fierce! I had to use a second paper towel on top of the donuts and press down to remove some of the oil. Brand name shortening (Crisco) nice and hot (360-ish degrees) sealed it better so they weren't as oily. If you are going to bake them, prepare your donut pan by greasing it heavily with shortening or butter.
Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment. The dough doesn't raise like wheat flour does so roll it pretty thick - about 3/4 of an inch or so. Cut out your donuts with a round cutter and a smaller one to cut the inside donut hole.
Fry your donuts in the hot oil, one ring/donut hole at a time until they are golden brown on each side (which depending on the temperature of the oil is about 1 1/2 minutes. If they get dark brown too soon it's because your oil is too hot. If your oil is not hot enough they will soak up the oil like a sponge and be inedible.)
Remove to a platter lined with paper towels to drain.
If you are baking them: roll the dough into a 'snake' form that is about the same size as the molds in your baking pan. Form them round the molds. Bake in a hot oven (350-375) until they are raised, and golden brown. I found they puff up really well while baking but do fall a little bit when they come out of the oven to cool. Let cool complete and dip the tops in a glaze.
Your glaze is made by mixing dry confectioner's (powdered) sweetener with a tiny bit of almond milk or cream. Amount vary but you can start with 1/2 cup sweetener and add almond milk or cream by the teaspoon, stirring until you get a glaze that isn't too liquid and isn't too thick. Add more/less sweetener or almond milk for your consistency.
Chill the donuts for a little while so they set up nicely before eating.
